


Puppy Love

by puckinginsane



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Banter, Dating, F/M, Family, Flirting, Fluff and Smut, Hockey, Love, Oral Sex, Phone Sex, Romance, Shower Sex, Smut, Sports
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2019-06-15 07:31:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 170,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15408060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puckinginsane/pseuds/puckinginsane
Summary: Dog park love connection.You don't usually go to the dog park looking for love. Has Tyler Seguin actually met someone he could see a future with?





	1. He loves cuddling. Also like his dad.

Water bottle, check. Travel bowl, check. Blanket, check. Towels, check. Tarp, check. Purple tennis ball, check. Treats, check.

"Well I think that's everything, Gracie," I say as I look down and into the amber eyes of my chocolate lab, Grace. You would think I was packing for a week long camping trip or something, nope, just a day at the dog park. To say she is spoiled would be an understatement, but what's the point of having a dog if you're not going to spoil the crap out of them?

You may think that shoving all of that stuff into a duffle bag would be overkill but trust me, all of that is necessary. The dog park we go to has a manmade lake where the dogs can swim and Grace being a true lab cannot stay out of the water. I would say it was a hassle if she didn't have so much fun out there so I deal with it. It's worth it. I am one of those pet parents who say their dog is their child, their baby. She has her own Instagram account. She's my best friend. My partner in crime. My life.

I grab her leash from the hook and clamp it to her collar and she immediately bursts for the door. She knows where we are going. She knows the dog park routine by now. She's picked up on the keywords that she knows. I sling the duffle bag over my shoulder and head out to the car. She waits somewhat patiently by the door until I open it and she jumps in. I have to harness her in, not only for her safety, but because she does not sit still back there. She loves traveling in the car, looking out the windows, trying to jump up front, trying to sit on my lap while I drive. I have learned the hard way that the harness is the safest thing for the both of us and everyone else on the road.

As we pull up to the parking lot she begins to whimper. She knows where we are. She wants out of this car. I park, get out of the car, and walk around to the side of the car where she waits for me. I let her out and we make our way over to the fence to walk in. I take her leash off of her once we get inside and she's off. It's not even 30 seconds we are here and she's already in the water. Typical. I take a seat on one of the benches and take my phone out. I am only a little jealous that her Instagram account has more followers than my personal account but I understand. She is a character. I take a video of her in the water, playing with the other dogs. "And she's forgotten who I am already." I am only half joking.

It's the perfect day to be out at the dog park. Dallas summers are so unbearable for the most part. Too hot, too humid. It's hot out today but there's a breeze and the humidity is manageable. I can deal with this. It looks like everyone else had the same idea. The place is packed. I don't mind, though. I love watching people with their dogs, but most of all I love getting to meet so many different kinds of dogs. I pet them if they come over to me but for the most part I observe.

As I post a picture on Instagram I hear a bit of chatter, which makes me look up from my phone to see what the commotion is about. I burst out laughing at the sight before me, Grace being mounted by a yellow lab with what I can best describe as a confused look on her face. Luckily she's fixed, I don't know about him. I stand up and walk over to them and begin to take a video. "Did he at least buy you dinner first?" I joke through my giggles.

"Gerry! Oh my god, get off of her!" I hear from a few feet away from me. I end my video and look up to see the most gorgeous man I have ever laid eyes on in my life walking towards me. His tattooed arms are bursting out of the sleeves of his shirt. The shirt that leaves little to the imagination, just tight enough to be able to see the outlines of the muscles of his toned body."I am so sorry about that," he apologizes as he holds onto Gerry's collar and pulls him off. The pink blush of his cheeks shows he's embarrassed but the slight curl of his lips into a bit of a smirk tells me he's just as amused as he is mortified. He takes the snapback off of his head and runs his fingers through his hair before putting it back on backwards.

"It's ok. She was totally asking for it. I told her the rhinestone collar would send the wrong message but she insisted." I smile at my own joke, fighting the urge to also laugh at it.

He laughs, which makes me smile even more. It's a cute laugh. "He's never done that before. I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't worry about it, but I'm coming after you for child support if she winds up pregnant." I am on a roll today with the jokes.

He looks down, smiling, then back up at me. "He's fixed, no worries."

Grace rubs up against his legs and looks up at him as she leans against him. Such an attention whore. "She wants you to pet her."

"Gladly." He squats down and pets her head and back and scratches behind her ears. He looks up at me. The angle kind of makes me uncomfortable. I don't even want to imagine what I look like from that angle. Part of me wants to squat down with him so we are at least at the same level but that might seem weird so I stay where I am. "What's her name?"

"Grace."

He looks at her. "Grace, that's a very pretty name for a very pretty dog," he says in the cutest puppy voice I have ever heard. I am melting and it's not because it's 91 degrees outside. He pets her a few more times before standing up. "I have a chocolate lab too, Marshall."

"All you need is a black lab to hit the trifecta."

He smiles so wide that it lights up his entire face. The most beautiful smile I have ever seen. "I have one of those too, Cash."

"Oh. Are they here?" I ask, I don't want him to walk away from me. I want to stand here and talk to him forever. Grace and Gerry run off before he can answer. "And we've lost our dogs."

"They're at home. They're older boys, not so into the dog park anymore. He has tons of energy, though. He can't get enough of this place."

"Yeah, her too." We both watch as they chase each other around the park. "She's almost 2 but still acts like a puppy."

"Gerry is 6 months so still very much a puppy. I wish I had time to bring him more often," he continues. We both look back at each other at the same time. I can't help smiling, he smiles too. "I'm Tyler, by the way."

"Amy."

"Cool."

"You don't mind if I put a video of that up on Instagram, do you? I thought it was kinda funny."

"No, I don't mind. Go right ahead." I take my phone out of my pocket and post the video of Gerry and Grace on her account. I look up from my phone and Tyler is looking over my shoulder. I knew I felt someone awfully close to me. He looks away, embarrassed he got caught. "Sorry, I'm nosey," he says as he scrunches his nose up.

"She has her own Instagram account," I reluctantly share. I don't want to come off too dorky. This guy is as perfect as perfect can get. He is so attractive and from the way he carries himself you can tell he knows it too.

"Oh yeah?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. I can't tell if he thinks it's silly or not. "What's the name? I'll have to check out the video."

"GraceTheLab."

He starts to type into his phone as a smile creeps across his face. "Creative." He waits a beat before looking up at me with his eyes, waiting for a reaction. He looks amused, proud of himself. Is he making fun of me?

"There's not a lot of user names out there!" I exclaim, defending myself.

He giggles. "Oh. Ok."

"What's your name then? Must be something pretty epic."

"Tseguin92," he mumbles.

"Oh, because that's so much more original. Let me guess, you were born in 92."

He nods. "I was, yes."

"Oh god, you're a baby." He is so much younger than I am. I shouldn't even be talking to him.

"Twenty five is hardly a baby. Why? How old are you?" He puts his phone in his pocket, folds his arms over his chest, and waits for my reply.

I sigh. "Thirty Four."

He smiles wide. "Oh." He silently laughs.

"It's not funny!"

"No! No it's not. That's not what I'm...I'm so sorry." He shakes his head at himself. "I mean it's funny that Gerry went after an older woman. He's kinda like his dad."

"Oh," is all I can manage to squeak out. My cheeks are hot from blushing. "At least you don't have the same forward approach."

"Wait, girls don't like it when guys just come up behind them and hop on?"

"Not usually."

"No wonder. That explains so much. Thank you for clearing that up for me." He smirks and looks to me for my response. He's so cute. He has this proud, smug look on his face and it's doing it for me. I've never been this attracted to someone before. It's hard to keep my cool.

"No problem. Happy to help for the sake of all the females out there in your sights."

He chuckles. He motions his head towards the dogs, who are still chasing each other around. I've been so caught up in this conversation I almost forgot where I was. It seemed like we were the only people here. I've been getting lost in his eyes, in his smile. "Looks like they like each other."

"Yeah, she doesn't usually spend this much time with one dog here. She gets distracted easily. I'm glad they're wearing each other out. She'll sleep good tonight."

"I'm sure he will cuddle up with me on couch tonight. He loves cuddling. Also like his dad."

"That's something we have in common," I reply. I can't believe I'm flirting with him, and that he's flirting with me, I think.

"Good to know." Yes, he's definitely flirting. Grace walks over to me, panting, and I get the travel bowl and water out of my bag and pour water for her. Gerry drinks some too. "He's forgotten all of his manners today. Didn't even ask if he could drink some. I apologize for my son."

"It's no problem. They're practically married."

"They grow up so fast. It feels like just yesterday he was a little guy and I was picking him up from the breeder."

"If only they could stay puppies forever."

"I don't know. He's a pretty naughty boy."

"Just like his dad?"

He looks down, a little embarrassed, then looks back up at me and rubs his hand over his beard and around to nervously rub the back of his neck. He is blushing so hard that not only are his cheeks pink but so are his ears. He settles on crossing his arms over his chest and bashfully shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe a little." He tries to hide his smile but his dimples give him away.

"Just a little? That's a shame." I have no idea what I'm doing right now. These one liners just keep flying out of my mouth. He's so cute but so hot. How can he be both? I can't resist flirting with him. He's blushing but I can tell by the way he handles himself that he's not shy. I doubt he's just a little naughty.

"I guess you'll have to be naughty enough for the both of us." He smiles and runs his tongue over his lower lip before biting it slightly.

"I have a feeling that won't be necessary."

"What?" he says as he exaggerates putting his hand on his chest, acting like he is hurt by what I said. "I am an angel." His face is so expressive. I'm already hooked on him. His smile alone pulled me in, then there's the rest of him. If you were to ask me to describe my perfect man he is exactly what I would describe. I am talking about looks, personality, everything. He is the total package.

"That is no way to start off, lying like that."

He laughs. "You got me." He leans in close. "Sometimes I need to be put in my place." He playfully raises his eyebrows a few times.

He takes a step back and looks down before looking back up at me, still smiling. I think he surprised himself with how forward he was. I don't mind. I liked it. I can't stop myself from blushing. He is intoxicating. I smile, once again I'm lost in his. "I can handle that."

"You think so?" he questions, sounding like he doesn't believe me.

"Isn't that why you like older women? The experience."

"That's part of it."

"Well. I don't play games. I know what I'm doing. I know what I want. And I know how to get it."

His jaw slightly drops open in shock. His eyes widen. He opens his mouth to say something but before he does Gerry walks over and flops down at his feet. Tyler looks down at his puppy and Gerry looks up at him, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and panting. It's not long before Grace follows suit and drops down to my feet. "It looks like they've had enough," Tyler says, sounding a bit disappointed. I'm not ready for our time together to be over either but both labs look exhausted. It's pretty hot out here and they've been running around for a while so it probably is time to head home.

"Yeah, looks like she's ready to go home. Isn't that right, Gracie?" She looks up at me while leaning her head on my leg. "Ready to go home?" She rolls on her back, looking for a belly rub. "Really? You're such a ham."

"You gotta give the ladies what they want. If she wants a belly rub, you rub her belly." He squats down and scratches her belly a few times. She squirms from side to side.

"Does that go for human ladies too? You give them what they want?"

He looks up at me, squinting from the sun, and smiles. "Only if they ask really nicely." He finishes rubbing Grace's belly and stands up. We take a moment to just look at each other. I don't think either of us want to leave one another. Gerry paws at Tyler's leg a few times. "He's getting impatient. I guess I gotta get going."

"Maybe we will meet up here again sometime," I say in hopes that it will become true.

"Or I could follow Grace on Instagram and we can arrange for them to get together again, you know, because they like each other so much," he suggests, then smile slowly creeps across his face.

"I bet Grace would like that very much."

"That's good to hear. I can tell Gerry can't wait until he sees her again." He types away on his phone. "Ok, followed."

"We will have to make it sooner than later then. We wouldn't want to keep them waiting too long."

He bends down to clip the leash on Gerry's collar. "You should follow me back, easier to keep in touch that way...for the dogs of course."

"Yeah, the dogs."

He smiles at me then squats down in front of Grace. "It was so nice meeting you, Grace, hope to see you again real soon." He pets her a few times on the head and scratches her back. She plants a big, slobbery kiss on his face. "Oh, don't go making Gerry jealous now." He stands up, giggling to himself. "It was nice meeting you, Amy." Gerry starts pulling him away. "We'll talk soon. Bye!"

I watch Tyler scurrying to catch up with Gerry and all the way up until they open the gate and walk out. That was certainly unexpected. You don't really plan a trip to the dog park thinking you're going to meet someone. Not someone you're genuinely interested in anyway. I hope he means what he says and we get together again. I hate to admit it but I miss talking to him already.

I get a notification on my phone and I take a look to see what it is. Tyler has sent me a message on Instagram. I open it. "Caught you watching ;)"

I look up from my phone and in the direction of the exit. He is standing by the fence with the biggest grin on his face. When we make eye contact he waves and I wave back. I write back, and I decide to be as honest as I can, even if that means I may scare him away. "I can't wait to see you again."

I watch him as he takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the message. He begins to reply back to me. "How about Sunday at 2?"

I look up from my phone smiling. "That sounds perfect, see you then."

I get one more message from him. "Not here, though, my place. I'll send you the information."


	2. The Perfect Date With The Perfect Guy

"What do you wear on a date with the most perfect guy in the world?" I ask Grace as I stand in my closet in my bra and panties, staring at the array of outfit possibilities. She is laying on my bed looking incredibly uninterested in anything I have to say. "You're no help, you know that, Gracie?" She lifts her head and happily wags her tail at the sound of me saying her name. "You're lucky. You don't need to worry about what you're wearing. You just show up and Gerry will be the most happy puppy ever. I can't believe both of us are cougars. You're a bad influence." I sigh. Yes I am talking to my dog as if she were a human. It's a common occurrence in my house. I am not ashamed.

It took me way longer than I am willing to admit to pick out a pretty simple outfit. I put a lot of thought into what would be the most appropriate. I don't want to go too fancy because we are just going to be hanging out at his house. I don't want to go too casual because then he'd think I'm a bum and never want to see me again. It's a warm summer day so I went with some shorts and a nice top that I know breathes in the heat. It's actually one of my favorite tops because it's so practical. It's casual enough to be comfortable, but you could wear it out to the club if you needed to. It's a little revealing but it's not like he's going to complain about that.

I stand in the full length mirror and take a look at myself, Grace now by my side. "This is as good as it's gonna get. Do I look like I'm trying too hard?" I look down to her as if she is going to answer. She just looks up at me, probably wondering what the hell I am saying to her. "I really like this guy." Ever since the dog park Tyler and I have been sending messages back and forth to each other, mostly about how our dogs can't wait to see each other. "Ready to go?" She bursts out of the room before I even finish my sentence. I grab my purse and her leash and we head out to the car to leave.

"You have arrived at your destination," my GPS blurts out, but it can't possibly be right. I'm either in the wrong place or he gave me the wrong address. I can't imagine he would have given me the wrong address so the GPS must have made a mistake. There's no way he lives at this house. I can't even call it a house. It's more like a castle. There's a gate out front and everything. I text him to figure out where I'm actually supposed to be. "I think my GPS took me to the wrong place."

"You sure about that?" As I begin to type a response back the gate begins to open. "I'll be right out."

The front door to the house opens and Tyler steps out and starts walking down the driveway towards me. By the time he gets to me the gate is all the way opened. He looks so good. He's wearing a grey sleeveless shirt, black shorts, and a black backwards snapback. I love seeing all of his tattoos...and muscles...but mostly the tattoos. He stands by my door and I roll the window down. "Hey," he says with a smile as he leans down to eye level. He looks to the back where Grace is. "Hey, Grace!." She wags her tail and tries to move but the harness holds her back. "You can pull right up and park in front of the house. I'll meet you over there."

"Ok, sounds good." He steps back and starts to make his way back towards the house. I roll my window back up and start to drive up the driveway. "I can't believe he lives here. Who is this guy?" Grace begins to cry and whimper as her impatience grows. "Ok, ok, we are getting out." I park in front of the house where Tyler said to and get out of the car to let Grace out. He is leaning up against the side of my car on the passenger's side. "It's good to see you again, Tyler."

"Same." He holds his arms out for a hug and I gladly oblige. He returns the hug and gently pulls me close to him. His hands feel nice on my back. I could stand here forever hugging him. I probably would have if Grace didn't start whining. "Sounds like she wants out." He lets go of me and I do the same. We will have to explore that again later.

I let Grace out of the car and she sprints towards the open door to the house and runs inside. "So neither of our dogs have any manners," I say as we both start walking towards the door.

"That's ok. She is welcome any time, I guess you are too." He smirks and waits for my response.

"Next time I'll just drop her off here then," I retort. Not a very good comeback. I wish I would have thought of something better.

"I wouldn't mind that at all really, although, I would prefer your company."

"You're sweet."

"Not very often." He smiles. "Come on, I'll let them out in the backyard where they can run around and we can talk."

He starts to walk inside and I follow behind him. As soon as I get inside I stop short at the sight of the massive size of the house. It looked big from outside but looks even bigger from the inside. "Wow, nice place."

"Thanks. I'll show you around later. Outside first." We take a few more steps forward when Gerry and Grace come galloping into the room, followed by Marshall and Cash who are taking their time. "And here are my other boys. Say hi to Amy, guys."

"Hello, Marshall and Cash," I coo as I pet their heads. They both wag their tails. "Labs are the best."

He nods in agreement. "Yes they are. Outside, boys!" We start to make our way to the backyard. Marshall and Cash walk beside us and Gerry and Grace breeze passed us and squeeze through the barely opened door to the backyard. We follow behind the dogs. "This is the reason I bought the house."

Now I know why he's been so eager to get me out here. The backyard is amazing and beautiful and definitely not something I thought a backyard could ever be. I don't feel like I am in Dallas anymore, but in an expensive resort on a tropical island or something. There's a waterfall by the pool, a putting green, a massive hot tub, the yard alone is bigger than my whole property. That might be a slight exaggeration but it sure feels like it could be true. I've been too busy admiring it that I haven't realized I haven't said anything in a while. I look towards him and he's looking right at me. The right side of his mouth curls up when we make eye contact. "I can see why you love it so much," I finally say, "it's beautiful out here."

"It sure is," he replies with flushed cheeks. He motions towards the putting green with his head. "Wanna do a little putting?"

"I'm not very good. I haven't even played mini golf in years."

He starts walking towards the green and I follow after him. "Anyone can putt." He picks up two putters that were leaning up against the house.

"I'm telling you I'm pretty bad." What I really want to do it push him in the pool and makeout with him, which would be pretty refreshing on this hot day, but I will restrain myself from doing anything like that. I've been trying to move slow and be more picky about who I go after. Someone 9 years younger than me definitely wasn't in my plans.

He hands me the club. "Show me what you've got." I sigh and set up in front of the ball. I am going to make a fool of myself, I just know it. Maybe he will find it endearing. I take a few practice swings and pray that I don't miss the ball when I go to hit it. I take a deep breath and hit the ball. I hit the ball way too hard. It whizzes off the putting green and trickles all the way to the other end of the yard. I hang my head. How embarrassing. Tyler giggles and exclaims, "you're terrible!"

"I told you!"

"You need lessons."

"Are you going to do the cliche standing behind me to show me how it's done routine?"

"Hell no! I'm going to beat you."

"I didn't think we were competing."

"Now we are so you better figure it out."

"It's nice to see romance isn't dead," I say sarcastically. I actually do like the honesty. He's a sassy guy and it is definitely working for me.

"There's no romance in sports."

"Oh ok, I see how this is gonna be."

He smiles wide. "Watch and learn." He steps up to the ball and takes a few practice swings like I did, but when he hits the ball it glides along the green and stops just a few inches before the hole. He looks back at me with this proud look on his face, almost as if he is surprised he did that well. "See. Not that hard."

"You have an unfair advantage. You live here."

"Excuses." He walks over to where his ball is and taps it in the hole. He bends over to pick it up and can't help staring at his butt. It's nice. It's more than nice. It's spectacular. A perfect butt on the perfect guy. He is so unfair. The least he could do is have a flat butt. "I won't even make you try to get yours in from all the way over here," he calls out to me as he walks over to where my ball is and picks it up.

"We'd be here all night."

"Yeah we would." He walks back to where I'm standing and puts the ball down in front of me. "Not so hard this time. That's the only help I'm offering you."

"Ok. I can do this." I stand in front of the ball. "It should be easy. You can do it so how hard can it be?"

"I love that you're getting into the spirit of chirping but do I have to remind you I had to walk 3 miles just to get your ball?"

"Ugh. No. I'll be more gentle this time."

I set up in front of my ball and look down at it, reminding myself to not hit it as hard as I did last time. I can feel his eyes on the back of my head. He's probably waiting for me to mess up again. I don't really mind too much. He seems to be getting a kick out of it and it's cute. I take my few practice swings and just as I start to take my swing to hit the ball I feel his body up against mine. He holds onto my wrists and says into my ear, "I know you want me to help you, but I won't." I feel goosebumps all over my body. The sound of his voice in my ear sends shivers up my spine. He lets go of me and I take my swing, missing the ball completely. I whip my head around and he has his hands on his knees, holding himself up, as he giggles uncontrollably. "You have to concentrate, Amy!"

"You're cheating!" My heart is still beating out of my chest. I can still feel his hands on me. I want them back. I want him close again.

"I'll stay back this time. I promise. We'll each go one more time then we can go inside and order dinner." From the look on his face I can tell that he knows he has me absolutely flustered. He did this on purpose. He knows what he does. How dare he? I would be mad if I didn't find it so hot. I'm almost mad at myself for being so into him. I'm weak. Weak for a nice smile, tattoos, and a sassy attitude.

"Please just keep it on the green," I mutter to myself as I get repositioned in front of the ball. I make sure to hit the ball gently so I don't send it flying across the yard again but this time I hit it a bit too gently and it doesn't go far at all. "At least it's on the green."

He rubs his hand over his beard, hiding the smile that is obviously there. There is no hiding those dimples. "You're getting there. You just need more practice."

"Let me just finish this up and put us all out of our misery."

"Misery? I'm having a great time. Don't be so hard on yourself. It's all in good fun."

"Sure. Sure," I mumble as I hit the ball towards the hole. Of course I overshoot it, but at least it's still close enough to where I can just hit it in with my next shot. I walk back over to where Tyler is so I can watch his turn.

He looks back over his shoulder. "I am having fun with you," he reassures me. He flashes me a quick smile before turning back around. He playfully sticks out his butt as he sets up for his shot. It's so perfect and round and just asking for me to grab it. That would be bold of me. I don't think he would get mad if I did. He looks back at me and shakes it a few times. Ok, now he really is asking for it. I wait until right before he hits the ball then I reach out and grab his butt with both hands. He hits the ball way off to the left and turns around to face me with his mouth wide open with shock. "Now who's cheating?"

"You were asking for it."

"Feisty, eh? I like it."

"I couldn't help myself," I confess. I can feel my cheeks getting warmer as I am sure I am blushing. I usually wouldn't just go for it like that, not so soon anyway. There's something about him that makes me feel comfortable, that I can say or do just about anything and he'd roll with it. It's probably his confidence. I feed off of it. It makes me feel more confident.

"How about we just call it a tie and go inside? The dogs look like they're ready to be back in the air conditioning and I can order us some dinner." We both look over at all four dogs, who are sitting by the door to go inside with their tongues hanging out of their mouths and panting up a storm. We start to walk towards them. "You ready to go inside?" he asks them in his adorable puppy voice, which is a few octaves higher than his usual deep, sexy voice. They all stand up and Tyler opens the door for them, they burst inside and head straight to the water bowl. "I should put another bowl down for them." He grabs a spare bowl, fills it with water, and places it down next to the other bowls. He leans back against the island facing me."Now for dinner. I know a great steak place that delivers. They do salads and stuff too, though."

"If you're getting steak I want that too. I'm not going to eat a salad while you enjoy a steak."

"Alright then, I'll get the menu so you can see what they have."

"Plus, I never turn down the opportunity to enjoy some good meat."

The sides of his lips curl up into a sly smile. "Good to know."

"That's not what I meant!" I shriek.

"I'm talking about steak. What are you talking about?" He pauses. "Oh, I think I know. Naughty girl."

"I was talking about steak too, I swear."

He giggles. "Relax. I'm just messing with you. You have to be able to handle chirping if you're going to be hanging out with me."

"I can handle it."

"Good." He steps towards me and puts his arm around my shoulders. His other arm wraps around me, pulling me in for a hug. "Because I like hanging out with you."

I hug him back. "I like hanging out with you too." He leans back against the island, still holding onto me, I instinctively lean my head on his shoulder as we continue to hug in silence. It's not an awkward silence, it's nice. This feels nice. The more time I spend in his arms, the more I feel like this is the only place I want to be.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, I should order the food," Tyler finally says, breaking the silence. He lets go of me and I do the same. I immediately miss the contact between us, especially his warmth. "We can sit on the couch and continue where we left off as we wait." It's almost like he can read my thoughts, or perhaps he's missing the contact just as much as I am.

After Tyler orders our food we walk into the living room and sit down on the couch. "Now where were we?" I ask as I cuddle up to him.

"I think we were right about here." He wraps his arm around my back, picks up the remote, and turns the TV on. And just like that I am back where I belong. I can't believe how good this feels. It's just a little scary how attached I've become to him so quickly. I really hope he feels the same way about me.

I rest my head on his shoulder and get comfortable. "I'll have to enjoy this while I can. Your season starts soon, right?" When I met Tyler I had no idea he was a hockey player. I've never really gotten into hockey. He's been telling me about how busy he gets during the reason to prepare me for the fact that he's not going to have a lot of time to hang out once the season starts.

"Yeah. Everything starts up again in a week or so." Gerry jumps up on the couch. "Oh, no no no."

"What?"

"Brace yourself. Gerry, no."

"For what?"

Before Tyler can answer Gerry climbs into Tyler's lap and licks his face. "Not now, buddy. Come on. Off." He tramples all over Tyler and I can't keep from laughing. "Balls, balls, watch the balls." Gerry moves from Tyler's lap to mine.

"Oof. Ok, he's heavier than he looks." Gerry sticks his face in mine. "Hey, cutie." He gives me a few licks then plops down on me. "You are not a lap dog, Ger."

"Gerry, that's enough. Time to get down. Amy's my girl. Grace is yours. Go be with her." He shoves Gerry a few times and he finally jumps down and takes his spot on the floor with the other dogs.

I'm smiling. I can't stop smiling. His girl. He called me his girl. I don't even think he realizes he did. I'm not going to say anything. He's told me that he's not really sure what he's looking for with me so I don't want to spook him. This is perfect. I know how he feels. I don't have to worry if he feels the same way. He does. "You want me all to yourself?"

"Of course I do. Besides, he can't hog up all the women in my life and my sisters already love him more than me."

"You have nothing to worry about. I'm all yours." He smiles a smile that lights up his whole face. It makes me smile too. He has the nicest smile I've ever seen and those dimples will be the death of me.

We cuddle on the couch and watch TV while we talk and wait for the food to be delivered. I am having so much fun with him. He's so funny and goofy and a complete smart ass. He makes me laugh and I've been making him laugh too. I love his laugh. It's infectious. The harder he laughs, the more I do too. I can honestly say this is the best first date I have ever been on. We just click. I feel so comfortable with him and it's obvious he feels the same with me.

We both groan when the driver rings the bell at the gate. It's not like we don't want to eat, but we were pretty comfortable where we were. Tyler stands up, presses the button to open the gate, and steps outside to meet the driver. I get off of the couch and start walking towards the door to help him carry everything in. Tyler pops inside the door with boxes filled with food in each hand. "Let me get one of those," I say as I reach my arms out.

"No need. I got this." He kicks the door closed with his foot and starts to walk to the dining room. 

I follow behind him. "Show off," I tease.

He looks back at me over his shoulder and smiles as he places the boxes down on the table. "Sit. I'll take care of everything." I sit down at the table and watch as he takes the food out of the boxes and distributes them. He leaves the room with the empty boxes and comes back with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Wine good?"

"Yeah. Perfect." He places the glass down in front of me and pours me a glass, then does the same for himself. "Thanks."

He sits down at his spot in front of me. "You're welcome. I really think you're going to enjoy this." 

"It looks and smells fantastic."

I didn't know something that could be delivered could taste this good. I feel like I'm in a 5 star restaurant. This is probably the best meal I have ever eaten. Every once in a while I look across the table at Tyler and he smiles. It's like he's proud of the food as if he made it himself. It's cute. I am on my second glass of wine and my last. I am a lightweight and reminded Tyler I have to drive back home tonight. I don't really want to get tipsy on the first date anyway.

"That was amazing, Tyler," I say after I take my last bite of food. I am not even ashamed that I cleaned my plate.

"I'm glad you liked it. I'll have to take you there at some point."

I smile. "That would be great."

After we clean up from dinner we make our way back into the living room and onto the couch. I definitely am not ready for this night to end and it doesn't seem like he's in a rush to get me out either. The couch seems to be his favorite place in the house, we always wind up gravitating towards it. I don't mind. I love cuddling. It's a little surprising he likes it as much as he does. Looking at him you'd think he's more rough around the edges, with the beard, tattoos, muscles, and the way he carries himself, but he's just a big softy.

He opens Netflix and hands me the remote. "Pick a movie. I could watch anything."

I flip through the movies and stop on Crazy, Stupid, Love. I have already seen it a bunch of times, but I could always watch this movie. "Anything, huh?" I question.

"If that's what you want, sure."

"Ok. Crazy, Stupid, Love it is then."

"I love a good chick flick anyway."

I look at him. "Really?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah, why?"

"You don't hear guys say that often."

"Well, I'm not like most guys."

"I am learning that."

"That's a good thing, right?"

I nod yes. "Definitely a good thing."

He smiles and puts his arm around me, pulling me close, a common occurrence with him. I could get used to this. I love it. I start the movie and put the remote down on the couch next to me. Tyler rests his head against mine. The perfect end to a perfect date with the perfect guy.

The dogs walk in from the kitchen, where they were eating, and start to settle down on the rug in front of the couch. I wonder if Gerry will try to join us again. He takes a spot beside Marshall and Cash. I think I actually hear Tyler breathe a sigh of relief. Grace makes herself at home and plops down right in the middle of the pile.

"My dog is a slut," I say, shaking my head.

"Just like her mom?" Tyler replies, a callback from our conversation at the dog park.

I playfully push him off of me. "NO!" I exclaim. He falls over on his side hysterically laughing. "Jerk," I mumble under my breath.

He sits back up. "Oh come on, you know I was joking, and that it was damn funny."

I side eye glare at him, trying to look mad. Of course I know it was a joke. A really good callback too. He flashes me a big, cheesy smile. I look away smiling. Damn him. I couldn't even keep a straight face for a few seconds. "Stop being so cute."

"You think I'm cute?"

"Please. You know you're cute."

"Yeah, but I like when other people tell me."

"They tell you often, do they?"

"Most of the time it's like hot, sexy, and incredibly handsome, but I'll take cute too."

I laugh. "Well, you are all of those things too."

He looks down and blushes. He is pink from his cheeks to his ears. "Thank you." How could he possibly get cuter? I didn't think he had it in him to be bashful. His arm slips back around me, where it was before, and I snuggle up close to him and we continue to watch the movie.

There is a point in the movie where Ryan Gosling is completely naked besides a towel that he has hanging around his neck and a very strategically placed Steve Carell's head in front of his junk. Tyler looks at me and slightly nudges me in the ribs with his elbow. I slowly look in his direction. "Now I know why you picked out this movie," he teases.

"I happen to really enjoy Emma Stone's acting," I say, defending myself. Ryan Gosling's body is definitely not the reason why I love the movie so much, it just happens to be a bonus.

"Yeah right. Look at that guy. You're practically drooling. It's ok to admit. I'm not threatened by it or anything."

"I am not drooling and I didn't think you would be threatened. You seem to be pretty secure with yourself, confident even, cocky."

"Anything else?"

"Mmm. Not at this time."

"Just making sure." He leans his head back on mine. I love how close he always seems to want to be with me. Always touching.

There is another point in the movie where Ryan Gosling shows off his body and the famous "it's like you're photoshopped" line is said.

I can hear the wheels turning in Tyler's head, trying to find something to smartass to say no doubt. I am waiting for it, looking forward to it even. I love it when he gets attitude with me. His sass is cute. Ok who am I trying to fool? His sass is hot. I have no problem giving it back to him either. I think he likes it.

He leans in close to me. I can feel him breathing into my ear. It's a good thing I am sitting because he has made me weak in the knees. What is he doing? His lips almost touch my skin. He's so close. Is he going to kiss me? "I have a better body than that guy," he seductively whispers in my ear. I almost say 'oh my god' out loud because of how off guard I am and how it has made me feel but I am able to keep it as an inner thought. My heart is beating out of my chest.

"I, um, uh, have no doubts about that." I take a deep breath. It was a struggle just to say that.

Without saying another word he sits back and pulls me back with him. How am I supposed to relax when my heart feels like it's going to explode? Movie, there's still a movie playing. I'm going to back to focusing on the movie. I take a peek at the floor where Grace and the boys are and they all are sleeping. This seems to have been a success all around. I am having a great time and Grace seems to be content where she is as well.

After the movie ends neither Tyler or I make a move to leave the couch. It's getting a little late and I know I shouldn't overstay my welcome and should be getting home. I am incredibly comfortable sitting here in his arms, but I have work in the morning. "We could put on another movie," he suggests after it got a little too quiet from both of us trying to think of what the next move is going to be.

"I would love to but I should get going." It pains me to say that. I don't want to leave. Leaving means I won't be in his arms anymore and I hate the feeling of not being in his arms. "I have work in the morning."

"Yeah, I guess it is kinda late. Let me walk you to your car." He looks down at the floor where the dogs are. "She can stay if you want. She looks pretty comfortable."

"Then who would I snuggle with in bed?" He smiles and looks down, almost as if he's a little embarrassed over the thought of what his response might be. I would love if it were him and wouldn't mind him saying so. "Speechless?" I can't help teasing him. He usually says what's on his mind. He doesn't hold back much.

"Yeah, maybe this time I am."

"Grace, time to go," I softly say as I squat down and pet her head. She opens her eyes and stretches out and winds up on her back, asking for a belly rub. "You're something else, you know that?" I rub her belly for a bit, which triggers Gerry to ask for one too. "I guess this is why we have two hands." I rub Gerry's belly with one hand and Grace's with the other.

"They're made for each other," Tyler says as he squats down. "I'll handle it from here." He takes over rubbing Gerry's belly and Gerry squirms from side to side with complete glee.

"Come on, Grace, stop stalling. It's time for us to go home. Sleepy time." She stands up and starts walking towards the door.

"Sleepy time? That's cute."

"I've been saying it to her since she was a puppy."

Tyler and I walk to the door and step outside. Grace immediately goes to the car and waits for me. I open the door so she can jump in and I put her harness on her to get her ready to go. This part always sucks, leaving. I really don't want to leave. I've been having such an amazing time and I don't want it to end. I can tell by the look on Tyler's face that he's a little sad I have to go too, but there's always next time.

"Maybe next time we see each other we can leave the dogs at home and actually go out, just the two of us," Tyler says.

"I'd like that."

He leans down to stick his head in the car where Grace is now lying down. "Thanks for coming over, Grace, I hope you had a great time." He kisses her nose. I can't believe my dog got a kiss from him before I have.

He closes the door and walks over to the driver's side door where I am. "I had such a great time tonight."

"So did I. I'm sorry I have to leave. I really would love to stay for another movie."

"Don't worry about it. We'll talk soon." He hugs me and kisses my cheek.

"I don't get a kiss on the nose?"

He smiles. "Nope. Not on the nose." He leans in and kisses me on the lips. It's soft and sweet and like heaven. We are both smiling as we pull away. "Have a good night, Amy."

"Goodnight, Tyler."

He hugs me one last time before I get into the car. He closes my door for me and gives me a cute little wave before stepping away and walking back towards his house. He watches me as I back out of the driveway, and I watch him watch me until I hit the street and am no longer able to see him.

I am on cloud 9, beaming from ear to ear, on a high that no drug could possibly reproduce. You wouldn't be able to wipe the smile off of my face no matter how hard you tried. I don't know why you would want to. I haven't been this happy in such a long time. I know it's early but I've got it bad. There's no turning back. I'm all in. He's got me hook, line, and sinker.


	3. Try to stay on your feet, Bambi

It's been a little over a week since I last saw Tyler. Training camp started and he's been in Cedar Park. It may be corny but I've missed him. He wanted to hang out before his games start up so he is taking me out today. I can't wait to see him. We've FaceTimed a few times while he was down there but it's not the same. I need his arms around me again.

"I get to see Tyler today, Gracie." Her head perks up at the mention of his name and her tail starts wagging a mile a minute. "Oh, you like him too? Smart dog." It's no surprise that Grace is familiar with Tyler's name at this point. Most of the time when I FaceTime with him she's right there with me and he talks to her.

He told me to dress warm, which is weird considering it's sweltering outside. I decide to go with some leggings and a light long sleeved top. I don't want to melt as soon as I step outside. He's going to be picking me up. I'm a little nervous. My house could probably fit inside of his. I know he isn't going to judge me for it, it's not like everyone can live in a castle like he does, but I just want to make a good impression. I spent all morning making sure everything is perfect. I'm sure it was overkill considering I doubt we are actually going to be spending any time here. It's always good to be prepared, though.

The doorbell rings and Grace and I both get up from the couch. My heart's pounding, her tail is wagging. She can't possibly know it's him already. I can't get to the door soon enough. I've been waiting for over a week to see his smiling face again. I open the door and he immediately smiles. There it is, the most beautiful smile I have ever seen in my life. "Hey," he says. He doesn't waste any time and he pulls me in for a hug. I squeeze him tightly. I get my hug. Finally. He kisses my cheek and squeezes me once more before letting me go.

"Come on in, it's way too hot out there." He steps inside and I close the door. I can see him looking around, taking it all in. "Beware of my vicious attack dog."

He squats down in front of her. "She missed me. Didn't you, Grace?" She licks him all over his face.

"We're still working on the vicious part."

He laughs as pets her, then squishes her face in his hands. "You could never be vicious. You're a good girl."

He stands up. "Ready to go?"

Grace starts jumping up on him, something I have taught her not to do. "Grace, you know we don't jump on people." I can't believe how much of an attention whore she is being.

"You can if you want. Just me, though." He smiles so wide, so proud of himself.

"I'll keep that in mind." I can't stop myself from blushing. He's such a flirt and I love it.

Tyler sits down on the couch and Grace stands up in between his legs, propping herself up on the edge of the cushion. He rubs the sides of her neck. "I'm going to be taking your mommy out for a bit, but I promise I won't have her back too late." She jumps up on the couch and rests her head in his lap.

"Well, I guess we are staying here. She's claimed you." As much as I want to go out with him, I can't help swooning over the fact that she has taken a liking to him. He's so cute with her.

"As much as I'd love to stay I have a lot of stuff planned for us today. Sorry, Grace." He stands up. "Oh that reminds me, go grab your bathing suit."

"My bathing suit? I thought i was supposed to dress warm."

"You are."

"Ok. I'll be right back." I have a million thoughts running through my head as I walk to my bedroom to get my bathing suit. He obviously plans to bring me back to his place to go swimming. I wasn't really expecting that. I should probably pack something else to wear besides what I'm wearing right now. I grab a bag from my closet and put my bathing suit in it along with some shorts and a tank top.

Once I get back into the living room both Tyler and I say goodbye to Grace before leaving. I spot a pair of skates in the back seat. They're definitely not Tyler's, they're too small. Tyler notices that I've spotted them. "Looks like the surprise is ruined. Oops."

I put my bag down next to the skates. "That explains why you asked me for my shoe size."

He smiles. "Sorry if you thought if you were getting shoes."

"I wasn't sure what to expect."

"I would have brought you to Top Golf but we know how that would have gone."

"Ha, ha, so funny."

"I'm really looking forward to what I have planned. I think you're going to like it."

"If it's spending time with you then of course I'm going to like it."

He smiles. "Awesome."

We sing along to the radio the whole ride there. I dance terribly in my seat, which makes him laugh. I have no rhythm whatsoever. I cannot dance but I always have fun being silly and he seems to love it. We pull up to a building that has the Stars logo on it and I'm excited. "This is where we practice," he explains as he pulls into a parking garage. A gate rises and he pulls under and parks. "There shouldn't be anyone here but front office staff. I made sure of it."

"Ok good, so I'll only bust my ass in front of you and not a lot of people."

"I'm going to try to not let you bust your ass. Skating isn't that hard anyway."

"Says the guy who's been skating since he was 3."

"You'll be fine. Don't worry."

Tyler grabs my skates from the back seat and we get out of the car. I follow him through a door that leads us into a hallway that has pictures all over the walls. There are photos and murals of past and present Stars. There are a few of Tyler. It makes me proud to know him. As we walk down the hallway he tells how his mornings start out here for practice and explains what each room is for.

"I'm going to bring you into the dressing room then we can go out to the ice." He opens the door and lets me go in ahead of him. "They just redid it for this season, they did an amazing job. It feels more like our actual dressing room at the AAC than a practice facility dressing room."

I look around the room at the different lockers with equipment in the stalls, ready for tomorrow's practice. "It's nicer than I thought it would be."

"They take good care of us." He walks over to his stall. "Here's mine. Go ahead, sit."

I sit down and he puts my skates on the bench next to me. He smiles. "You look good there." He takes his helmet off of the shelf and places it on my head. It's big on me, almost covering my eyes. "Perfect. I'm taking a picture."

I lift the helmet up so it rests on my forehead and I can see. "You are?"

"Put it back on." I just look at him. "Please?" I sigh and put the helmet back on the way he had it. I can hear him giggling. "My newest teammate trying to steal my spot."

"Are you filming me?" I ask as I lift the helmet up once more.

"Say hi." I timidly wave. He fiddles around on his phone then puts it in his pocket. "It's only Snapchat. Don't worry. It's private." I hand him the helmet and he puts it back where it was. He sits down next to me and takes his phone out. "I'll text this to you. I couldn't resist, though, you looked really cute." He shows me the picture before sending it to me.

"It's even bigger on me than I thought."

"Are you saying I have a big head?"

"Not at all."

"I usually don't talk too much about all of the hockey stuff with girls. I don't want that to be what they like me for, but I want to show you this side of me. I know you don't really know anything about it and it is a big part of who I am. I definitely want you to know everything."

"You have nothing to worry about. I liked you before I knew you play hockey."

He smiles. "I know I don't." He picks up the skates from next to me. "Take your shoes off. I'll help you put these on."

I kick my shoes off and Tyler kneels down in front of me, taking my foot and resting it on his knee. He slides the skate on. "Fits perfectly."

"Ok, good, I was worried." He pulls my laces tight and ties them. "Ok, other foot."

I put my other foot up on his knee and he repeats the same process as before. "I probably could have done this myself," I say as he ties the laces.

He finishes tying and looks up at me. "Where's the romance in that?"

"I thought there wasn't romance in sports."

"I'm trying something new."

"It's working." He smiles.

He stands up and sits next to me and puts his skates on. I'm nervous. I've never ice skated before in my life. I've never even roller skated, I never had an interest, I was more of a bike girl. I rode my bike everywhere. Tyler finishes tying his skates and he stands up. He reaches out for my hand and I stand up and follow him out of the dressing room to the rink. Walking in the skates feels awkward but it's easier than I expected.

Once we get to the rink Tyler opens the door to the ice and skates out. He makes it look so effortless, probably because it is for him. It's not so effortless for me. I take a while to even muster up the courage to step out onto the ice and my legs immediately wobble underneath me. I grab onto the wall as if my life depends on it. I take a few deep breaths before slowly trying to walk along the wall, still holding on for dear life. I don't get very far before Tyler realizes that I haven't joined him yet. He skates over to me and looks at me sympathetically. "You're not going to get very far holding onto the wall like that," he says. He holds his hands out. "Take my hands."

"I don't feel like I will be able to do it without falling yet."

"I won't let you fall. The only way to do it is to just do it. Let go of the wall." I let go with one hand while still holding on with the other and grab Tyler's hand, then I do the same with the other. "We are going to go slowly, ok? Nothing to worry about." He starts skating backwards, holding onto my hands tightly, and I glide along the ice. "Amy, you have to actually move your legs."

"I know. I know." I start to move my legs along with him but I can't really get my footing under me. I'm a mess. Thankfully Tyler has a good hold on me and is strong enough to keep me from losing my balance. I can't believe how bad at this I am. I feel like an idiot.

"You're getting there. You just need to get used to how you need to move your legs. I'm going to let go of you so I can show you."

"No, Tyler, don't."

"You'll be fine. Just stand there and watch." He lets go of me and skates around a bit. I hate how easy it is for him. A chill runs down my spine and I cross my arms over my chest. I should have dressed a little warmer than I did. I didn't realize this is where we would be going. This shirt is doing nothing for me. He skates back over to me. "Are you cold?"

"Yeah, a little. I didn't want to dress too warmly because of how hot it is outside. That was a mistake."

He takes his hoodie off and hands it to me. "Put this on, it'll keep you warm." I put the hoodie on and zip it up. "Or I could keep you warm." He wraps his arms around me, hugging me tight.

"I like this a lot better than skating."

He lets go. "You haven't even given it a real chance."

"Ok. Yeah. You're right."

"You're thinking about it too much and psyching yourself out. Relax and have fun. And remember that It's ok to fall. I'll pick you back up."

"Thanks, Tyler."

He stands back with his arms crossed over his chest and watches me skate, well, attempt to skate. My legs don't seem to want to cooperate with me. At least I haven't fallen yet.

"Is there anything you're actually good at?" Tyler teases.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I retort.

"Well yeah, of course I would." He smiles and raises his eyebrows up and down. I laugh then lose my footing and slip and fall right on my ass. "Try to stay on your feet, Bambi." He grabs my hands and pulls me up.

"I grew up in Texas and my dad wanted a son. All I know is football."

"Always full of excuses."

He holds my hands and skates with me, this time I actually move my legs. I'm beginning to get a little more comfortable being on the skates. "I'm going to let go, ok?" he asks. "You can do this on your own."

"Um, ok," I reply, a little unsure if it really is ok with me. He lets go and continues skating backwards as I attempt to skate towards him. "You're showing off!"

"I'm just skating backwards."

"I can't even skate forwards yet," I whine.

"You just need practice."

"One day we will find something I'm better at than you."

"Doubt it." He laughs.

"Oh, you're gonna get it."

"You'll have to catch me first." He turns and starts skating away.

"You know I won't be able to!" I call out to him.

"What? I can't hear you from all the way over here." I start skating and actually start to pick up a bit of speed. It's not the most graceful skating ever but I'm doing it. He looks back over his shoulder at me. "You're getting there." I wobble and fall. He rushes over and stands over me. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He holds his hand out to lift me up and I grab it with both of my hands and pull him down to the ice with me.

He sits next to me with his arm around my back. "Now we both are going to have wet butts." I laugh. He leans in and kisses me. He is so soft and gentle with his kisses. I get to savor them moment by moment. They take my breath away. "Have you had enough? We can get going."

"I don't think I could ever get enough of this." I put my hand on his cheek and kiss him. He smiles in the kiss as he kisses me back. I don't think he was expecting me to kiss him.

He's still smiling as we pull away. "You're so fucking corny, you know that?."

"Yeah, but you like that shit."

He laughs. "Maybe I do." He stands up. "Come on, let's go." He helps me up from the ice and we make our way back to the locker room where our things are.

After we change back into our shoes we make sure everything is where it was when we came in and walk out to Tyler's car. "I had a great time. Thank you so much for taking me," I say as I buckle my seatbelt.

He looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "You did?"

"Yeah. One day I'll be able to stay on my feet the whole time."

"We will have to get you up to speed by Christmas."

"Why's that?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "No reason. I mean, that should be plenty of time for you to get used to it, right?"

"I would hope so, yeah."

He smiles. "See. We'll get you there." He takes a deep breath and turns the car on. "So, where do you want to go for dinner?"

"I wouldn't mind getting some Chipotle."

"Really? Because I could take you anywhere."

"It's a good thing Chipotle is considered a part of anywhere."

"Just making sure. I'm not going to argue. I do love Chipotle."

"Ok good, then it's settled."

We drive to Chipotle, order our food, and decide to get it to go so we can go back to Tyler's house and eat there. Chipotle is a bit packed tonight and eating alone is much more intimate anyway. I think Tyler was expecting to go out and eat at a nice restaurant today but I honestly prefer this to that. We can go out and be fancy another night. Besides, I'm wearing leggings and this sorry excuse for a sweater, not exactly nice restaurant material.

Once we get to back to Tyler's I set the food down on the table while he grabs us some drinks. He opens the door to the backyard so the dogs can run outside if they want to. He pours the dogs food and my ringtone goes off. I look at who it is, it's my dad, I can't ignore my dad. I answer the call. "Hey, I can't talk long." Tyler sits down at the table across from me and watches me.

"Oh, busy?"

"Yeah, about to sit down for dinner."

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to come over." He sounds a little disappointed. I feel bad but there's nothing I can do about it.

"I'm sorry, but I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, that's true. I won't keep you. Have fun." Tyler starts making silly faces at me. I can't stop myself from laughing. "I see you already are."

"Yeah." I smile at Tyler. "I'll see you tomorrow. Sorry I couldn't come over tonight."

"It's ok. It was last minute. See you tomorrow, sweetie, love you."

"I love you too." Tyler furrows his brow and purses his lips together as he sits up straight to look at me. I hang up the phone and put it down on the table. "What's wrong?"

"You love who?" he questions suspiciously.

"My dad."

He sits back in the chair, relieved. "Oh." He looks down at the table and shakes his head at himself. His cheeks are flushed. He looks back up at me with his eyes. "Let's eat."

"You've gotten yourself all flustered," I tease.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." His cheeks turn even more pink, along with his ears. "I just. Ugh. I was seeing red."

"You have nothing to worry about," I assure him.

He smiles. "So, are you close with your dad?"

"Yes, very."

"A daddy's girl, eh?"

"Big time."

"I'm closer with my mom than with my dad."

"My mom left when I was really young. I don't even remember her."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. Must have been rough."

"Not really. My dad was really amazing to me growing up. I never felt like I was missing out on anything by her not being there. I was more mad that she hurt him so much. He's a great guy and didn't deserve that."

"So it's just you and him. I bet he's protective of you."

"Yeah. Too protective."

"That just goes to show how much he loves you."

"Yeah I know. It can be too much sometimes, though."

"I'm pretty protective of my sisters, not like they listen to me. I understand where he's coming from. You have to look out for the women in your life. There are a lot of shitty guys out there. I should know, I'm one of them."

"You're not that bad, Tyler."

"But I can be."

"You've been more than amazing with me."

He smiles. "I'm glad you think so."

Gerry walks over to me and rests his head in my lap and looks up at me with his cute puppy dog eyes. "I don't share my food, sorry bud." I pet him a few times.

"Does Grace beg for food?"

"Not with me. She's learned I won't be giving her anything. When my friends are over, that's another story. They can't resist."

"These guys are pretty spoiled. Cash could stand to lose a few pounds."

"He's not that bad."

"If you say so." He looks down at Cash, who has made himself comfortable by Tyler's feet. "You're my chubby boy, aren't you Cash?" he coos in his cute puppy voice.

"That poor dog."

He looks up at me as he pets Cash. "He doesn't know what I'm saying. You can say just about anything in that voice and they'll be happy."

"True."

We continue eating. "Where did you get Grace?"

"From a breeder. If I ever get another dog it'll be from the shelter or a rescue."

"These guys are all from breeders. I'm done, though, three is enough."

"When I moved out I wanted a dog immediately, but I just didn't have the time. I got laid off and that gave me the time to be able to train her and get her housebroken before I went back to work."

"So it all worked out."

"Yeah. I couldn't imagine my life without her."

"These guys either. They're great to come home to, especially after a rough game or a road trip."

"The companionship is wonderful. Labs are great for that."

We continue talking about our dogs as we eat. It's nice to see that he considers them his children because that's how I see Grace. I wouldn't say I have a particular type of guy I look for but liking animals is important. It's so much of who I am. I don't think I would ever considering dating a guy who wasn't head over heels in love with animals. It being dogs is definitely a bonus.

"Have you told your friends about me?" he asks after a lull in the conversation.

"Yeah, I did. They want to meet you. They've looked at your Instagram and swear to me that you're not real."

"I'm as real as they get."

"I know. They'll find out soon enough."

"I'm up for it any time you're ready."

After we eat and clean up Tyler stands by the island with his hands in his pockets. "I can get the hot tub started if you want to go in."

"That sounds amazing."

"I'll change in my bedroom and you can change in the bathroom and meet me outside."

"Sounds good."

I pick up my bag and follow Tyler to his bedroom. I walk into the bathroom and close the door. I brought the bikini I had worn on my vacation to Hawaii. It has a floral pattern on it. I'm hoping it's not too much. I love how it looks.

"Heading out. I'll have a towel for you out there," he says from behind the door.

I change and look at myself in the mirror. I have to admit I look pretty good. I've been taking care of myself a lot better lately and it shows. I have nothing to worry about.

I make my way through the house and to the backyard. I'm surprised I didn't get lost on the way there. I'm still getting used to the massive size of the house. When I get outside Tyler is standing by the edge of the hot tub, about to get in. He turns around and smiles when he sees me. "Wow," he says as I walk towards him.

I thought he was perfect before but I had no idea just how perfect. His body is out of this world. His skin looks so smooth. I have to consciously remind myself to keep my mouth from hanging open in awe. I want to touch every bit of him. "Yeah? You like?"

"Oh yeah, you look great."

"Thanks. So do you."

"Let's get in."

He holds onto my hand firmly as I take a step into the hot tub. Such a gentleman. I sit down and the hot water feels so good. I feel more relaxed already. He gets in and sits down next to me.

"What a perfect way to wind down the night. I don't use this as often as I should," he says as he leans his head back and looks up at the night sky.

"I'd be out here all of the time. It's so relaxing."

He looks at me. "It's much better with company."

"You have my number. Anytime you need company, let me know."

He smiles. "I will."

"I didn't realize skating was so painful. My legs and feet are killing me."

"You just have to get used to it. You're using muscles you're not used to using in a way they're not used to. Put your foot up on my knees. I'll rub them."

"Oh, I dunno."

"Don't get all shy on me now. Come on, foot up."

I reluctantly take one foot out of the water and rest it on his knee. I am immediately reminded that my toes were painted by a 6 year old and look terrible. Tyler notices them right away and inspects them. "Did you get your pedicure from a blind person?" he teases.

"Ugh, no. My best friend's six year old." I put my hand over my face. "Don't look at them."

I try to pull my foot away but he holds on tightly. I uncover my face and look at him. "Don't worry about it. It's nice that you let her do that. It's also cute that you kept it."

"She wanted us to match. Her mom did hers."

"That's sweet."

"She's a great kid. I love her like my own. She's got some mouth on her, though."

He laughs. "That's most kids. No filter. They will just say anything on their minds."

"Kinda like you." I smile proudly at my playful ribbing.

"Ha, funny," he dryly replies, "But true." A smirk appears on his face, along with his double dimples. He's going to be the death of me, I swear.

He begins to rub my foot and the worry about my terrible toes goes away. It feels incredible. His hands are magic. It makes me wonder what else he's good with his hands at. My mind wanders to a naughty place as I begin to imagine what else his hands can do.

"This feels amazing, Tyler, thank you."

"My pleasure. Ok, other foot." I don't hesitate giving him my other foot. I've learned my lesson.

He begins rubbing my other foot and I let out a deep breath. "If hockey doesn't work out for you, this could definitely be a backup profession."

"Oh, stop," he bashfully says.

"I'm serious. Those hands of yours..." My mind tapers off again to a dirty, dirty place.

"Were you going to finish that thought?"

"Mmmm, nope. I'm good where I left it."

"Hm. Ok." He moves his hands up from my foot to my ankle, then to my calf. "Are you sore here too?"

I swallow the lump in my throat. "Now that you mention it, yeah, it is pretty sore."

"We can't have that."

He massages my calf and I reach out and start to play with his hair. I twirl the curled end of it around my finger. He smiles, then leans in to kiss me. I kiss him back. He puts his hands on either side of my thighs and pulls me right up against him. My legs rest across his lap as we kiss more passionately. We start to get more and more into it and I start to think we may wind up having sex right out here in the hot tub. Next thing I know there is a huge dog head pushing his way in between us. We both open our eyes and Gerry is looking back at me. He kisses my face a few times before turning to Tyler to do the same.

"Gerry! Get out of here!" Tyler yells as he pushes him out of our faces. "You sure do know how to ruin a moment. Get inside!" Gerry runs away. Tyler and I exchange glances and we both laugh. "Sorry about that."

I look down. "Don't worry about it." My heart is pounding out of my chest. I sigh. "Well that was nice while it lasted."

"Definitely. We will have to explore that again." He grabs his watch and looks at it. "I should probably get you home anyway. It's getting late and I promised Grace I wouldn't keep you too late."

"I guess it is getting late, isn't it?"

"Yup."

We both sound pretty disappointed that we are choosing to end the night instead of picking up where we left off, but maybe it's better this way. I'm trying to move slow, and I don't even know what this is between us yet. It's not the right time to take that next step. It sure did feel like it was, though.

We get out of the hot tub and Tyler wraps the towel around me before pulling me in for a hug. He rests his lips on my forehead, I close my eyes and savor this moment. He keeps telling me that he isn't one for a relationship or commitment, but everything he does with me contradicts that. I haven't been reading too much into it. I am enjoying the time we spend together and whatever this is, I am so happy with it. I don't think he realizes what he's doing sometimes. He's always quick to deny that he's a sweet guy, but he is.

The whole way to my house Tyler and I are laughing about Gerry getting in the middle of us out in the hot tub. It was unfortunate, but I love that it has given us something to joke about. I love hearing Tyler laugh. It's infectious. We have come to the conclusion that Gerry was telling us "if I can't get any, then neither can you."

Once we get to my house Tyler walks me to my door. I don't want the night to end but it's pretty late. I have plans with my dad tomorrow that I have to actually wake up for. Tyler looks at me with sad eyes. He doesn't want this to end either. It's been one of the most spectacular days I have ever had.

"I'd invite you in, but then we'd just be up all night and I really need to get to bed."

"I know. Next time."

"I realize how much of an old lady I sounded like just then. Forget I said it."

He giggles. "No, you're fine. It was my decision to take you home. Trying to do the right thing and all."

"Well, I had the best day with you. Thank you."

"Don't expect too much more of them. I don't have a lot up my sleeve."

"Oh I don't know. I think you'll surprise yourself."

"I hope so. You deserve every day to be the best day." He looks down with his cheeks growing pink, embarrassed. He doesn't say things like that often. I think I'm right, he keeps surprising himself. It's cute to watch. One day he won't be embarrassed when he says sweet things to me. Until then I'll continue to enjoy the pink cheeks.

I hug him. "Ever since I met you they have been."

He smiles so wide. "I want you to be there for opening night. I think you'll really like it. It'll also be nice knowing you'll be there cheering me on."

"Yeah, definitely. Just tell me when and I'll get a ticket."

"No, Amy, I will leave you a ticket." He shakes his head at me. "Silly."

"Oh. Right. I wasn't thinking."

"Well, I should get going before we stand out here all night trying to avoid leaving each other. We'll talk, probably once I get home."

"Yeah, probably."

"Tell Grace I said goodnight. If I see her I will really never want to leave."

"I will."

He runs his fingers through my hair and kisses me. "Goodnight." He hugs me one last time before turning away and walking to his car.

I unlock the door and step inside. Grace is right there waiting for me. She must have heard us on the other side of the door. I close the door behind me and she looks towards it, like she's expecting Tyler to walk in. "Not tonight, Gracie, sorry." I put my bag down on the floor and she starts to inspect it, sniffing all around it, sticking her head in, the usual when I bring anything home. "Tyler says goodnight." The mention of his name causes her to take her head out of the bag and look at me, her tail starts wagging. "You'll see him soon, I'm sure. I'll take you out, then we can go to bed."

I let Grace out into the backyard to let her do her business. I take my phone out and look at the pictures and videos Tyler took of me today. They make me smile. As I look through Instagram I get a text from him.

The boys are looking for you

Grace was looking for you too, I think she's mad I sent you away

I should have come in

As you said, next time

Yeah, well, get some sleep. Have fun with your dad tomorrow.

Thanks, always do

Once Grace and I get inside I start getting ready for bed. I always feel bad when I leave her for a long period of time. I didn't get much time with her today. She's a forgiving dog, though. She jumps up on the bed and waits for me as I get changed. I get into bed next to her and turn out the lights. I love sleeping next to her but there's a big part of me that wishes Tyler was next to me instead. Maybe next time.


	4. My First Hockey Game

I am excited to be going to my first ever hockey game tonight. I never had any interest in it before I met Tyler but he's done his best to try to explain as much to me as he can. I'm really looking forward to seeing him play. He offered to leave tickets for my friends to come too, but I decided I want to experience it for the first time by myself. He went so far as to offer us a suite but I said next time we will take him up on that offer.

I took a half day at work today to make sure I didn't get stuck in traffic going from work to the game. It's a Friday, when the traffic is like 25% worse than usual. Tyler told me I should get there for when the doors open so I can watch him warm up. He told me exactly what to do and what to expect so I can't wait to get there and have my first hockey experience. I am spending time with Grace before I have to leave. I wish I could take her with me. She loves people and she loves Tyler.

Tyler and I have seen each other a few times since our skating date. I've gotten to watch a pre-season hockey game with him. That is when he took the time to teach me about hockey. It was fascinating. Not only did he teach me about the rules of the game but how he would handle certain situations if he were out there.

I bought Grace a Stars shirt that I've put on her and I think she looks happy to wear it. I post a few pictures of her in it to her Instagram account and send the best one to Tyler.

_She wants to go to the game too._

_That would be great, sorry Gracie. She looks great in victory green_

_I don't put shirts on her usually but I think she likes it. She's been prancing around the house_

_I take a video of her proudly prancing around the house in her new shirt. She makes me laugh. She's got such a personality. I send the video to Tyler._

_So cute. She loves it._

_I can't wait for tonight. I'm real excited_

_Hopefully it'll be a good game for you._

_I also can't wait to see you._

_He sends me a selfie. It's from the shoulders up but I can tell he's not wearing a shirt. Getting dressed. Have to leave soon._

_I've been so lazy ever since I got home._

_You're allowed. I'm sure Grace is happy you're home._

_Yeah, she's in her glory_

_Can you send me a selfie? I want to see you before I play_

I take a few selfies before settling on one that I consider acceptable to send to him and send it. _Will see you soon_

_So beautiful. Ugh. I have to get going now. I'll see you after the game. I'll text you information about what you need to do to come down and see me after. Have fun._

_Thanks, Tyler, good luck._

Before I leave the house there is a big part of me that wants to leave the TV on so Grace can watch the game. I should skip the game and go straight to the loony bin. I wind up vetoing that idea and settle for just leaving the light on for her. That's much more sane.

I get to the arena and park then head over to the box office to pick up my ticket. Next stop is Victory Park where there is all sorts of activities going on. It's like a kid friendly tailgate party. There is cornhole, some kind of mini street hockey, a bouncey house, promotional giveaways, lots of stuff to do before the game starts. Tyler told me to get in early so I opt to get in line and wait for the doors to open.

Once I get inside I'm a little overwhelmed. Everyone seems to know where they want to go and I have no idea. I know where my ticket says I need to go but I have to find out where to go to watch them warm up. He's expecting me to be there. It would be embarrassing to have to tell him I couldn't figure it out.

I finally buckle down and decide to ask someone where I should go. They are decked out in Stars gear, they look like they know what they're doing. They tell me to follow them, they're going down for warm ups too. That's a relief, now I won't feel so lost. As I follow my new friends around the arena I look all around to take it all in. I've never been to the American Airlines Center for sports before, just concerts. It's a totally different vibe in here than I've ever experienced before. There's a certain feeling of excitement and togetherness. It's a familiar feeling, similar to what I feel when I go to Cowboys games.

I follow my new friends all the way down to seats that are right in front of the glass. They explain to me that we can sit here for warm ups as long as the people with the tickets don't come, which.usually doesn't happen. It's going to be almost 45 minutes before they come out, but it's good to get there early because it can fill up pretty quickly. I have so much to learn. I have a feeling I am going to be going to a whole lot more of these.

"What brings you to your first game?" the woman, Robin, asks.

"I just recently was introduced to hockey and wanted to check it out live." That is true. I didn't want to name drop and say that I'm here to see Tyler or that he asked me to come.

"You're going to love it. It's so much more exciting live than on TV. You picked a good night to come, too, opening night always has a little extra electricity," she explains.

"Where are you sitting for the game?" her husband, Andrew, asks.

"Section 110."

"Oh, lower bowl, nice. At one point you'll have to sit higher. It's a whole different perspective. You can see everything from up there. Plays developing and all that. You can really get into their mindset from that view."

"I definitely will at some point. Thank you."

I learn that they are season ticket holders and have been for 10 years. I picked the right people to ask. They're pros at this point. It's all second nature to them. They have their routines just like the players do.

"So, what do ya'll think of Tyler...Seguin?" I can't resist asking. I know what I think about him but I'm curious to know what his fans think about him.

They both exchange looks before smiling a bit. "Well, he sure has brought a lot of fans to the team," Robin replies.

"That's a good thing, right?" I know he was traded from Boston and it's a little bit of a sore subject so it's good that some of his fans still support him here.

"Yeah. It's a good thing." She smiles.

"To be honest, I was a little worried when we first got him. He had that reputation and I didn't want to be getting a player that wasn't one hundred percent all in to the team. He's a hard worker, getting better every season, and he's been one of the best things to ever happen to this team. We are lucky to have him," Andrew adds.

That is so great to hear, that they value him that much. I can't help dwelling on what he said about Tyler's reputation. I have purposely stayed away from looking him up because I wanted to form my own opinions on him based on my experiences. Now I'm curious. I should just drop it but now it's in my head. "What was his reputation?" I reluctantly ask.

"Oh, you know, party boy, a bit of a ladies man. In other words, your typical good looking, young, successful boy," Robin explains.

"Oh." Now I'm a little sorry I asked.

"That takes nothing away from what he can do out on the ice. A man's private life should just stay that, private. He's a great asset to the team and he's been growing up little by little. You can look it up online if you want, it's all there, but it has nothing to do with hockey," Andrew says.

I nod in agreement. "Yeah, I don't think I'll look it up. I'm not interested in that stuff." Am I telling the truth? At this point I'm not sure. I don't really want to. I've been having such a great time with him and I don't want to look at him differently because of something I read online. Part of me thinks I need to know, though. I'm not sure what I'm going to do.

"They're about to come out," Robin points out.

I am thankful for that. I was getting a little lost in my thoughts. I need a distraction.

"Welcome to the ice for pre-game warm ups your Dallas Stars!"

One by one the players skate out onto the ice as the music plays. Tyler is second to last to come out. He doesn't have a helmet on, is that even safe? This is the first time I've seen him in uniform. He looks good. I can see him scanning the crowd, possibly for me, we make eye contact and he smiles and taps his stick on the glass in front of me before skating away. I smile and just like that all of my worries have gone away.

Robin says something to me but I don't really hear her. The music is a little loud and I'm focused on trying to keep an eye on Tyler. I knew hockey was fast but you don't know just how fast until it's right there in front of you.

I find myself getting more and more into warm ups as time goes on and next thing I know it's over. That didn't last nearly as long as I would have liked it to. Tyler takes some last minute shots on the goal before picking up a puck and tossing it into the crowd. Everyone reaches up for it and winds up in the hands of a little boy. That was so nice of him. The boy grins from ear to ear and Tyler is the last one to leave the ice.

"So how was that for you?" Robin asks as we begin to collect our things to leave for our seats.

"Really great. Way too short."

She laughs. "I take it we will be seeing you again then?"

"Yes definitely. You'll probably be seeing a lot of me."

"He has that effect on people."

"Who?"

"Seguin. He has a way of drawing people in."

"You have no idea."

It doesn't take me long to get to my seat. I look around and start to think that I should have brought my friends with me. I'm having fun, but I'd be having even more fun if they were here. I do admit I'm a little nervous for them to meet Tyler. They can be pretty judgemental and I just want everything to go as smoothly as possible. They're either married or in serious, long term relationships and then there's me. I'm still trying to figure out what I want. At 34 years old I'm still in a "we will see where this goes" situation.

The lights go out and a big, light up star begins to descend from the ceiling. Music plays along with a video on the jumbotron of past seasons. I smile when I see Tyler's face on the screen. It's quite the spectacle. A video, a light show, the music, it's all getting me pumped up to see this game.

After the star makes it to the ice the PA announcer introduces the coaching staff and players and one by one they make their way onto the ice. I clap for everyone until I hear Tyler's name and I scream, "yeah, Tyler! Wooo!" as he skates out to the ice. I'm used to cheering for the Cowboys so this is nothing new for me. It's just a little more special because I know him and care about him.

The first period didn't have any scoring but there was plenty of action. I thought they were fast during warm ups, the game is even faster. It's a little hard for me to keep up because I'm not familiar with all of the rules yet but I'm getting there. Not knowing the rules is not keeping me out of the game, though. It's fast, intense, physical, but yet somehow beautiful. I don't even know how these guys can stay on their feet most of the time. I can tell it takes a great amount of skill to be a hockey player.

During the first intermission I decide to leave my seat and get something to drink. I'm going to hold off on getting food because Tyler and I are going out for dinner after the game. I don't want to fill myself up with overpriced, greasy food.

The more time I spend in the arena, the more I notice how much of a big deal Tyler is. Almost every other person has his name on their back. There is merchandise of his everywhere. He hasn't really told me just how good he is, but I am starting to find out for myself. He is obviously a fan favorite here.

I come back to my seat and there are two women sitting in the seats next to me that weren't there before. I smile at them as I take my seat. I can't help listening to their conversation. They're talking about how packed the arena is compared to what it's usually like. They seem to be experienced in coming to games. I'd like to find out more from them, but I don't want to force myself into their conversation. I'm feeling a little lonely, regretting not inviting my friends along, and I'm not shy so maybe when there's a lull I'll say something.

They both look at me at one point and I awkwardly smile at them. Can they read my thoughts? "I'm sorry, but have we met before?," one of them asks, "you look really familiar."

"No, I don't think so." I study their faces and they don't look familiar to me at all.

"Have you been to any games before?" the other one asks.

"No, this is my first."

"Hm. I don't know then. Sorry to bother you."

"It's no bother. I was dumb and came by myself so it's nice to have someone to talk to." I realize how pathetic that sounds but it's too late. I can't take it back now. "Do y'all come to a lot of games?"

They exchange glances and smile. "Well, my boyfriend is on the team and her husband."

"Oh." I feel stupid for not knowing even though there's no way I would.

"Stephen...Johns is my guy. Greg Pateryn is hers. And I'm Taylor by the way."

"I'm Stefani."

"I'm Amy, it's nice to meet you. You'll have to point your guys out to me. I haven't learned who everyone is yet."

"Oh, so you're a real newbie," Stefani, who is furthest from me, says.

"Yup, I just started getting into hockey."

"Are you, um, here to see a certain player?" Taylor asks, a little unsure of herself.

"Uh, yeah." I don't really want to say who because we don't really have a label on what we are. We are more than friends but not boyfriend and girlfriend. I don't even know if "dating" is the term yet. It's complicated. They look at me, waiting for a name I assume. "Tyler...Seguin."

They both look at each other and nod at one another. I take it I'm not the first girl Tyler has invited to a game. I can tell by the looks on their faces. "He invited you?"

"Yeah."

"I see. Well, if you have any questions about hockey or anything just ask," Stefani says. She smiles at me but I feel like it's more of a sympathetic smile. I'm not clueless to the fact that Tyler doesn't usually date, he keeps things pretty casual. We've had the conversation before. It's nothing new to me. I don't have any expectations but I feel like it's different with me, although, that's how the others could have felt too. I'm not too worried about it. I like what we have.

"I have so many."

"Go for it."

"Does it get easier? Like, dealing with the busy schedule and them being away a lot? I've never had to deal with anything like this before." When we first started talking he was very upfront with me about how busy he gets and how he won't be around a lot and it's important I understand that and that I could handle it. Even knowing it's hard to prepare for it until it happens.

"I wouldn't say easier. You're always going to miss him and wish he were around more, but you'll find what works and get into a routine. You learn to appreciate the time you have together so much more," Stefani explains.

"A lot of girls seem to like him."

They laugh. "Yes. He is quite popular with the ladies," Taylor says.

"It's a good thing I'm not a jealous person I guess."

"You can't be. It'll drive you crazy. Trust is huge. You have to find a way to appreciate the fans and be thankful they care about him so much. It means he's doing something right," Taylor replies.

"I can't blame them, really, he's attractive and good at what he does."

"How did you guys meet?" Stefani asks.

"At the dog park."

They look at each other with a bit of surprise on their faces. "Oh really?"

"Gerry mounted my dog and I thought it was funny, Tyler was a bit embarrassed."

They laugh. "That's hilarious."

I get my phone out and open Grace's Instagram profile to show them the video. We laugh along to the video and make fun of Tyler's voice when he approaches. He really was mortified. It was cute.

"I have a lab too!" Taylor shrieks. She takes out her phone to show me a picture. "Chief. He's way more laid back than Gerry, but a character in his own way."

"All labs are characters."

"That is the truth."

Taylor and Stefani talk amongst themselves and look over at me. "Wait, you were on Tyler's Snapchat, weren't you?"

"Yeah I was."

"That's why you look familiar!" Stefani exclaims.

"Oh yeah, he had you at the practice facility, right?" Taylor asks.

"Yeah, attempting to teach me how to skate. Didn't work out all that well."

"It'll come to you. I was terrible at first too," Taylor reassures me.

"You guys seem cute together, if you don't mind me saying."

"Well thanks. It's still pretty new and we're figuring things out. I'm not sure where we will end up, but I'm happy for right now."

"We hope he keeps you around. You seem to be just what he needs," Stefani says.

"Thank you. I hope so too."

Intermission ends and the players start to skate back out onto the ice. I had almost forgotten where I was for a second. I was so lost in that conversation with Stefani and Taylor. I still have so many questions for them, but I feel good about what they had to say.

The next two periods are a lot more action packed than than the first. Each team scoring a pair of goals. With five minutes to go in the third, with the game still tied up, Tyler scores a goal and the whole place goes absolutely insane. It was a beautiful goal. He skated down the ice with it, passed it off, got into position, and got the puck passed back to him and he blasted it into the back of the net. I stand up, practically jumping up and down, as I cheer for him. Stefani and Taylor give me high fives and we sit back down. My heart is pounding out of my chest. What a rush.

The Stars maintain the lead for the last 5 minutes of the game and win. I watch as they all skate out to the goalie and bump helmets with him. They salute the crowd and go down the tunnel to the locker room.

"Are you meeting Tyler downstairs?" Stefani asks as we gather our purses up.

"Yeah."

"Come with us. We can show you where to go."

"Oh good, because Tyler's instructions are confusing."

"That's not surprising," Stefani snickers.

"Stefani! Don't be mean," Taylor scolds.

"I'm sorry, but he's not the brightest. It's a good think he's so good looking."

"I apologize for her."

"It's ok. She's right, but if he ever asks I defended him." I smile.

They laugh. "Ok, deal."

I follow behind them as we make our way downstairs and under the arena. They explain to me where the locker room is and how all of the wives, girlfriends, and families wait down here for their guys. There are also fans who get to meet players whether it be for being a season ticket holder or other means. They point to a group of kids, all wearing oversized shirts, who are lined up against a wall.

"Has Tyler told you about Seguin's Stars?" Taylor asks.

"No, he hasn't."

They both roll their eyes. "Geez, this guy needs some serious pointers."

"What the hell has he told you then?" Stefani asks, almost offended that he hasn't told me.

"More about off the ice stuff. More personal. He says he doesn't want people liking him for the hockey stuff so he doesn't talk about it much. Kinda like a leave work at work kind of thing."

"When he comes out you'll see a little bit of it, but definitely ask him about it."

"Ok, I will."

The doors to the locker room open and Tyler walks out wearing the most perfectly tailored suit I have ever seen on a man. His hair is slicked back with gel but it's still wet from the shower. He smiles at me and gives me a little wave while he walks over to the group of kids. I smile. I can't help it. I always smile around him. He really does make me so happy.

This is the first time I've seen him in a suit. How is it that every time I think he couldn't get any more perfect he manages to do so? He's so well put together. So handsome. How is it possible for someone to be that attractive? Not only does he look good, but he knows he does, so he walks with that sexy confidence that makes me weak in the knees. I've got it bad. So bad.

He is so amazing with the kids. He's so enthusiastic with them. He's always expressive, but even more so with them. He makes sure to take time to talk to each one of them, and more importantly listen to all of them. At one point he tells them that it's my first hockey game too, to which one of them replied, "isn't she too old?" Talk about kids having no filter. Tyler's eyes went wide with shock and didn't quite know how to respond. He finally wound up saying, "no, she's perfect." Which caught us all by surprise.

He didn't say it for all of us to hear, but we all did. I can't stop grinning from ear to ear. He hasn't been much of a sweet talker. That's just not who he is. I already think he's perfect, so to hear that he feels the same way about me feels really good. It reassures me that we are in the same page still. I am happy we are taking things slow but I was beginning to worry they weren't going anywhere at all. And the way people have been talking about him started to put doubts in my head. My confidence is restored. I can breathe easy again.

Tyler finishes the visit with a group picture and some individual pictures. He begins to walk towards me with a big smile on his face and open arms that he eventually wraps around me once he gets to me. "Hey you," he says, muffled by my hair as he nuzzles into my neck. He gives me a quick kiss and looks at Stefani and Taylor next to me. "I see you've made some friends. They haven't been bad mouthing me, I hope."

"No they haven't."

"Better not," he says to them sternly.

"You're doing a good job of that on your own. You didn't even tell her about Seguin's Stars," Stefani teases.

"I was going to tonight. Leave me alone," Tyler pouts.

Two guys walk over to us, who I assume are Stephen and Greg. Tyler introduces me to them and we walk away from the crowd, his arm around my back. "So, how was your first hockey game?" he asks.

"It was amazing. You are amazing."

"I was getting worried I wasn't going to score for you and you'd rethink everything."

"I don't know much about hockey, but I do know you can't score every game."

"Yeah, but I could try." He smiles. "I'm so happy you had fun. Any time you want to see me play just let me know. I'll leave tickets for you. Next time bring your friends."

"I will. I was regretting coming by myself."

"You have 40 games to make up for it."

"Stefani and Taylor were good company, though. They helped me understand what was going on."

"That's good. We will have to watch more games together." Someone walks passed us and Tyler follows him with his eyes before yelling out to him. "Chubbs!" He turns around. "Come here, I have someone I want you to meet." He walks back over to us. " Jamie, this is Amy. Amy, this is Jamie."

"Hi," Jamie shyly says. He looks at Tyler with raised eyebrows.

"Hi, it's nice meeting you, Jamie," I reply.

"This is a change for you," Jamie says to Tyler. Everyone seems to be a little surprised by my presence down here.

"I know." Tyler looks at me and smiles. He has a look of such admiration on his face. He looks proud to have me here and meeting his teammates.

"Wow. It's like that, eh?" Jamie asks with a smile.

"Like what?" Tyler says through his teeth, sounding annoyed, which makes me think he actually knows what Jamie is referring to. I'm still clueless. There have been enough exchanged glances, secret conversations, and vagaries to have me scratching my head a bit.

"Your heart eyes are showing a bit, Segs," Jamie teases.

"Shut up," Tyler mumbles. His cheeks and ears grow pink with blush. The poor guy wears his emotions on his face and body language, it's endearing, I love it.

"Are you finally growing up?" Jamie asks, a little more seriously. Tyler looks at me and then back at Jamie. He nods his head yes. "What? Really?"

"Yes, ok? Just drop it," Tyler snaps.

"No need to get mad. It's a good thing." Jamie looks at me. "Good luck with this one. I have to get going. It was nice meeting you."

"You too, Jamie."

Jamie pats Tyler on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Segs. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya," Tyler replies, still a little annoyed. His brow is furrowed and he looks so angry, but it's so cute. Jamie walks away and Tyler turns to me and I burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"You."

"Me? How am I being funny right now?"

"You're adorable."

He smiles. "Oh. Thanks."

"Why are you so pissed off?"

"I'm not. It's fine." He sighs.

"You know, everyone around here has been acting a little weird around me." I had to say something. It's been nagging at me. I feel like I'm constantly being judged.

"Don't worry about them. It's probably because I don't usually bring girls down here. They're teasing me. It has nothing to do with you. You, you're..." He doesn't finish his sentence.

"Perfect?"

He blushes and looks down at the floor. "You heard that?"

"Uh huh."

"Well I meant it." I smile wide and he smiles back. He leans down and kisses me. Everyone that are still around starts cheering. Tyler pulls away are glares at them. "They're so embarrassing, sorry."

I laugh. "It's ok. I forgot they were there."

"We should get going."

"I drove. I'm parked over in the garage."

"Leave it there. We'll come back for it."

We start to walk towards where his car is parked when we hear a voice calling out from behind us. "Wait, guys!" Tyler and I stop in our tracks and turn around. Stefani and Greg, Taylor and Stephen, and a few other guys are walking towards us. "Are you going out?" Stefani asks.

"Um, yeah, but..."

"We should all go out together," she interrupts before Tyler can finish.

"Uhhh, sure," he reluctantly agrees, "Moxies."

"Ok, we'll meet you there."

We all walk to our respective cars. Tyler turns the car on then looks at me. "I really wanted it to just be us."

"Yeah, I know."

"We could always not show up and go somewhere else."

"No, don't do that. It'll be a good time."

"Of course. We will be there." He flashes me a big, toothy smile and scrunches his nose. I love how he gets when he's proud of something he says. Usually he thinks he's being so clever. He has to smile at himself so proudly. He's such a quirky guy for also being incredibly sexy. It's not quite fair that he's both. There's way too much to fall in love with.

Dinner at Moxies was a good time, just as I thought it would be. I know Tyler preferred it to be just us, I did as well, but it was good to see how he is with other people besides me. Hockey players are so funny, always messing with each other. What's most important is I didn't feel left out or out of place. I felt included. I felt like I belonged. I was worried as the new comer it would be awkward, especially since I'm not his girlfriend, but it wasn't. I love Stefani and Taylor. I can see myself hanging out with them without the guys. They seem to like me too. It's good that I have them to talk to because I am sure the deeper I get into this, the more questions I'm going to have. It has been a successful night and I am ready for bed.

Tyler drives me back to my car. Now for the part I hate the most, saying goodbye. He stops in front of the parking garage and sighs. "I guess you have to get out now," he says bitterly.

"Unfortunately,"I sadly reply.

"Let me know when you get home, ok?"

"I will."

I lean over the center console to hug him. I'm not ready to leave just yet, but we can't sit out here in front of this parking garage all night. He squeezes me tightly and holds on for what seems like forever. We finally break apart and I kiss his lips softly. He kisses me back just as soft. I know that a soft kiss is where we are going to have to leave it tonight. We can't get carried away, not out here. Judging by the way he's kissing me back he feels the same why I do.

"Ok, I gotta get going. I'll talk to you soon," I say even though it kills me to say it.

"Goodnight, Amy."

I get out of the car and walk around to the driver's side. I stand there looking at him through the window. My body won't let me move. I have to, but I can't. He rolls the window down. "Everything alright? This is the right garage, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's the right garage."

"What's wrong?"

I lean down, stick my head in the window, and kiss him once more. This time it's not soft. It's the furthest thing from soft but I don't care. I can't leave him for the night without kissing him like I mean it, like I don't ever want to stop, like this is the last time we will ever kiss so we better make it count, like our lives depended on it, like I am so into him that my heart explodes with joy every time I'm around him and it aches when we are apart, like all of that rolled into one amazing kiss. The proper way to end the night.

"Wow," Tyler says after we finally pull apart.

"Yeah."

Both of us are a bit speechless after that kiss. It definitely makes it harder for me to go, but I had to kiss him like that. We say our goodbyes one more time and I have to practically pull myself away from him. It's a lonely elevator ride up to the level my car is on. My heart still beating out of my chest, it probably will for the rest of the night.

I pull up to my house and see a Rolls Royce parked in front of my house with a suited figure leaned up against it. "What is he doing here?" I say out loud to myself. I pull into my driveway and he walks up and meets me outside my door. "What are you doing here?" I repeat to him.

"I got lost?" he says with a shrug.

"Mmhmm."

"You're not happy to see me?" he pouts.

"Of course I am."

He smiles and hugs me. "I needed more alone time with you. We got none tonight."

"You just can't get enough of me."

"No I suppose not. Are you going to invite me in or what?"

"I'm thinking about it."

"Aaammmmyy," he whines.

"Ok, ok." I unlock the door and open it. Grace comes running up to us and goes straight to Tyler.

Tyler pets her as we make our way into the house. "Hey, Gracie, did you miss me?" He squats down and lets her kiss his face as he pets her.

I put my purse on the coffee table. "Let's go, Grace, outside." We walk through the house and I open the door to the backyard and she bolts out. I stand in the doorway to watch her. Tyler comes up behind me, wraps his arms around me, and kisses my cheek before resting his chin on my shoulder. I lean my head towards his. "I wasn't ready for the night to end either."

"As soon as you got on the elevator I knew I was coming here and not going home."

"I'm glad you're here."

"Yeah? You like me or something?"

"Or something I guess."

He playfully gasps, acting hurt, and gently smacks my butt. I turn around, shocked. He laughs. "Oops my hand slipped."

"You should really be more careful."

"Nah."

I smile. I can't help it. He's so cute. He smiles back at me and there's a sparkle in his eyes. He pulls me in for a hug. He gives the best hugs. I rest my head on his chest and he kisses the top of my head. Grace comes back inside and waits by her food bowl, a sign that she's hungry. I let go of Tyler and poor food in the bowl for her. "We can watch some TV for a bit if you want," I suggest as I guide him back into the living room.

"Sounds good to me. I'm going to take my blazer and tie off."

I sit down on the couch and turn the TV on. Tyler hangs his blazer up in the closet and joins me. I notice he's unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt, exposing a bit of his chest. I swallow a lump in my throat and place my attention back on the TV.

I have this nagging voice in the back of my head screaming at me to ask Tyler about his past. I really don't want to, especially not in this moment. I don't want to ruin this. The more time goes by, the louder the voice gets. I don't want to dwell on it, but I can't stop.

"You're awfully quiet tonight," Tyler says.

"Sorry about that. Just thinking."

"About what?" he asks with his head cocked to the side, looking at me like an inquisitive puppy.

"Nothing I want to get into right now."

"That sounds serious. You can talk to me, you know."

"I'm really enjoying this and I had such a great night and I just don't want to ruin it," I confess.

"Oh. So it's about me." I don't respond. I'm hoping he will drop it. "Amy, talk to me."

I sigh. I didn't think it was going to be that easy, but I was hoping. "It's just that I was talking to some fans before warm ups. And I didn't mention that I know you or anything, but I was just wondering what they thought of you because they've been season ticket holders for so long. Well, they mentioned your reputation that you had before you came here and well, I, uh, I dunno, maybe I shouldn't be saying anything. I really don't want to ruin the night. It's just...I can't help wondering..." I ramble.

He sighs. "Did you Google me? Because you really can't believe everything you read on the internet."

"No. I wanted to hear about it from you."

"All you need to know is I'm not that guy anymore. A lot of those rumors are from when I was 19 and out of control. You know me, the real me, I'm different now. I could get into the whole thing with you if you really want me to, though. I wouldn't keep it from you."

I take a moment to think. Is this something I really need to know about? There's potential of hearing something that will make me look at him differently and I don't want that. He says he's changed and I believe him. I trust him. "I guess I don't need to know details."

"I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. I've made a lot of stupid mistakes. Everyone does, though, I'm human like everyone else. People are going to say things and some of them may be true, but most of it's not or at the very least exaggerated. They think they know me because of a few social media posts but these people don't know me. You know me. I show my true self to you. I can't say that for a lot of people. I trust you and I hope you can trust me."

"I do trust you, Tyler."

He smiles, gently grabs my face, and kisses me. "If you have any doubts or concerns please tell me. You know I don't hold back."

"Yeah, I know, sorry."

"Don't be sorry. You have a right to know. I'm always going to be open and honest with you. You don't have to worry about that."

He's looking right in my eyes while he's talking to me. I know he's telling the truth. It may not be how I would have liked the night to end, but I'm glad we talked about it. Maybe someday I'll want to know more, but for right now I've heard all I needed to hear. What's important is how he is with me and how he treats me and so far it's been amazing.

He rests his head on my shoulder and I slip my arm around his back. He snuggles up close to me as I channel surf, looking for something to watch. I decide to stop on the Food Network, there really isn't anything else on to watch. The Food Network is my guilty pleasure anyway, I could watch an all day Chopped marathon even though I have seen every episode already.

"So, tell me about Seguin's Stars," I say as I rub my hand up and down his back.

"When I got here I knew wanted to do something to give back to the community. I was welcomed here with open arms and immediately felt at home. The Stars have a great foundation that does so much for so many different organizations and through them I came up with Seguin's Stars. At first it was working with people with spinal cord injuries and bringing them to their first hockey games, giving them a suite to enjoy the game from. I had a close friend get into a car accident that left him paralyzed so it was extra special to me to give back to them. The last few seasons I've been working with Boys and Girls Clubs to bring the kids to games. They get a nice suite and I meet with them after the games. It's important for me to talk to these kids and make sure they have a good experience. It makes my night, especially if we've had a rough game. I've been trying to give to the community where and how I can. It's been super rewarding."

"Wow, that's great , Tyler. You're really good with those kids too. I bet it makes a huge difference in their lives."

"I hope so."

"They all had smiles on their faces tonight. I loved watching you with them."

"Oh yeah?" He looks up at me and smiles. I kiss him. I can't help myself. He's so kissable and right now there's something extra cute about him. I think it's because he seems a bit tired.

I lean my head on Tyler's as we watch TV. I'm starting to get a bit tired myself. My eyes grow heavy and I'm not sure how much longer I can stay awake. "How long are you going to stay?" I ask, "I'm falling asleep." No answer. "Tyler?" Silence. I took at him and his eyes are closed. A few strands of hair have fallen out of place and onto his face. I place a kiss on his forehead and his eyes slowly open.

He blinks a few times before sitting up straight. "I guess I fell asleep," he says as he tries to wipe the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah, I was about to fall asleep myself."

"I guess I should get going." He sits back on the couch and stretches his arms up over his head.

"I don't think you should be driving this tired. You should stay here."

He finishes stretching and his arm winds up around me. I lean into him. "You'd be ok with me staying?"

"Of course. It's not safe to drive tired. I have some stuff you can sleep in."

"Ok. I just have to text someone to go over and take care of the dogs."

Tyler texts his friend as he follows me to my room. I go into my closet and grab him shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in. They are men's shorts and t-shirt but they have never belonged to a guy. They're mine. I would never have someone I'm dating wear clothes from an ex. That would be a little messed up. I try to explain this to Tyler as I hand them to him but he laughs it off, he doesn't really care either way. I offer the bathroom for him to change in, but he refuses. He drops his pants and puts on the shorts I gave him. "It's a good thing I wore underwear today, eh?" he says with a wink as he unbuttons the rest of his shirt.

"Today?" I question as I carefully pick out what I'm going to wear to bed.

"Sometimes I don't."

"Oh," is all I can manage to say as my mind wanders to a hundred different dirty places. He takes his shirt off and drapes it over the foot of the bed, where he also placed his pants. He puts on the shirt I gave him and sits down on my bed. "I'll change in the bathroom. I'll be right back."

"Why? It's nothing I haven't seen already."

"Who said I was wearing underwear?" I smile at him over my shoulder as I leave the room, leaving him with his mouth hanging open.

When I come back into my room Tyler is already laying down in my bed under my blanket. He's on my side of the bed but I won't say anything to him about that. He looks very comfortable. I climb into bed and join him. It seems as if Grace understands that tonight is just for me and Tyler because she has settled down in her bed that's in the corner of the room. He holds up the blanket and I shimmy myself under.

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me close. "This is great," he says with a smile. He kisses me. "I love this." He kisses me again. "I'm so tired." He buries his face into my chest.

"I am too." I stroke his hair. "You have practice tomorrow, too, right?"

"Yeah. I'll have to leave pretty early to go home to change before I go. I'll try not to wake you."

"If you need anything to eat or drink before you go, help yourself."

He looks up at me and I kiss him. He smiles. "I'd love to stay up and kiss you all night, but I have to sleep. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Tyler." I turn off the lamp on my bedside table and we both settle in to sleep.

In the morning I am woken up with the feeling of soft lips on my forehead. I slowly open my eyes and see Tyler hovering over me with his hair flopped in his face. "Sorry, I know I said I would try not to wake you but I couldn't help myself," he says in a hushed tone, "I let Grace out so you don't have to worry about that."

"Thank you." I reach up and run my fingers through his hair, trying to push it back on his head, it just flops right back into his face since he's still looking down at me. "Well I tried."

He smiles. "I'll talk to you later. Go back to sleep." He puts his hands on either side of me and leans down to kiss me. "Thanks for letting me stay. I had a great night with you."

"Have a good practice."

"I will, thank you. Bye."

"Bye." Tyler walks over to Grace, who is back in her bed. "Go on, Gracie, keep mommy company." She gets up and jumps into the bed with me.

He kisses her on her head and kisses me one more time before leaving. Both of us watch him until he is out of sight. I pick up my phone and see that it's way too early for me to be awake on a Saturday. I put my phone back down and drift off to sleep.


	5. Darts, Pool, Gelato

Tonight is my date night. I planned it. We are going to one of my favorite bars to hang out in. I'm going to be picking him up and everything. I told him it wasn't fair that he got to plan all of the dates, and that I wanted to plan one too, so this is my time to shine. Tyler's dates have been so magical, it's going to be hard to top them.

The bar has an array of games to play from pool to foosball to darts. My game is darts and I'm praying that it's something Tyler is going to struggle with. I have to be better than him at something, and I'm really good at darts. I would actually be surprised if he was better than me. I've been playing ever since I can remember. My dad taught me everything. He's the only person I know who is better than me, and it's not by much.

The whole way to the bar I explain to Tyler how it became my go to hang out spot. This is a place that is pretty special to me. My friends and I spend a lot of time here. We've been coming here since the day it opened. You can find us here at least once a week, maybe more depending on how hard of a day we've had at work. I can't wait to show Tyler a little bit more of who I am.

We walk through the doors and it's not like Cheers where everyone shouts your name when you walk in but they know me here. Tyler has a hand on my lower back the whole way through the bar. I love it. It's so comforting. The bartender, Nick, gives me a familiar nod as we make our way to the bar. It's not overly crowded in here, which is one of my favorite things about the place. It's bustling but not too loud where you can't have a conversation with someone without having to scream in their ear.

Nick places my usual, a Miller Light, down in front of me. "And for you?" he asks Tyler.

"Bud Light." Nick walks away to get Tyler's Bud Light. Tyler looks at me. "He knows your drink order?"

"I told you I come here a lot."

Nick places Tyler's Bud Light in front of him and looks at me. "Left the rest of the posse at home tonight?"

"Yeah, it's date night," I say with a smile as I look at Tyler. Tyler smiles back. "This is Tyler, Tyler this is Nick."

Nick reaches over and shakes hands with Tyler. "Nice to meet you," Tyler says.

"Likewise," Nick replies, "have fun, you two." He walks away to help some other customers.

"So what's a typical night out at the bar for Amy and her posse?" Tyler asks as he turns around and leans his back up against the bar.

"Usually we start off with drinks and wings."

"Wings? Nice."

"They make the best wings here. We'll have to order some."

"Whatever you want. It's your date. I'm paying, though."

"Uh, no. It's my date. I pay."

"There's no way I'm letting that happen."

"Nick, I'm starting a tab," I say to Nick as he walks passed me. I hand him my card before Tyler can object. Nick takes my card, runs it through the system, and hands it back to me. Tyler looks at me with pursed lips, trying to look annoyed. "My date. My rules. Got it?"

He fights a smile but can't help himself. He bites his lower lip slightly then lets out a single laugh. "Fine."

"Anyway, drinks and wings, then we usually play some pool. We save the darts for last."

"Darts after drinking? That doesn't sound very safe."

"I'm usually not drunk."

"Usually?" I just laugh. "You're so irresponsible."

"We end the night with foosball always."

"Sounds fun."

"We can start off with darts tonight, though." I grab his hand and guide him through the bar to the back where the dart boards are. There is a wall with 6 dart boards on it. I take us to the one all the way to the right, my usual board. The darts sit in a holder next to the board. I grab them and hand Tyler his. "Do I need to show you how to throw them?"

"I got this," he says with confidence.

"I just don't want to be responsible if you take someone's eye out," I tease.

"I won't. You're so mean," he complains.

"Can't take a little chirping?" Something he always says to me.

He smiles. "Of course I can. Maybe you should go first, though."

I describe the rules as I throw each dart towards the board. I could do this in my sleep, really. This is where I feel most in my element. I don't hit the bullseye, but I get pretty darn close. I was hoping to hit one to show off a bit, but I think he's still impressed. I give him a few pointers before it's his turn to throw. I want him to do well, just not better than me.

I don't have to worry about Tyler being better than me, that's for sure. His first throw didn't even make it onto the board. "Well that's fucking embarrassing," he mumbles to himself as he picks the dart up off of the floor. "Can I try that one again?"

"Sure. Go ahead. I'll pretend I didn't see it."

His next throws aren't great but at least all of the darts hit the board this time. I'm amused but I try not to show it. I don't think he's used to being bad at something. "You're loving this, aren't you?" he bitterly says as he hands me the darts.

"Just a little."

"Hey, I was supportive when we went skating and you were having trouble."

"But I thought 'you got this'."

He hangs his head. "I don't. I thought it did, but I suck."

"Relax, you just need more practice."

He looks around to the other boards on the wall. "I guess I don't feel that bad. Those guys aren't doing much better than me."

"Not everyone can be this good," I brag. I can't help myself.

"Is that so?" He takes a few steps towards me, our bodies almost touching, his lips only a fraction of an inch from mine. He looks into my eyes and smiles.

"Uh huh." He kisses me and pulls away slowly, not nearly slow enough, he's leaving me wanting more.

"Your turn," he says with a sparkle in his eyes. If he thinks he's going to be throwing me off my game, he's wrong.

He leans up against the wall to watch my turn. He takes the snapback off of his head and his hair flops out of it. I wish he would keep it off but he just runs his fingers through his hair and puts it back on backwards, the way it was. He takes another sip of his beer. He notices me watching him and smiles. I can't help admiring how good he looks standing there.

I wind up beating Tyler, which is no surprise to either of us, but he did better and better as his turns went on. We take a break from playing to order another beer for ourselves and some wings. We lean on the bar table and wait for our food to arrive.

"How drunk do you have to be to be bad at darts?" he asks.

"Pretty drunk, I'd say."

"Shots over here!" he calls out to Nick over everyone in the bar. I wave them off. I'm driving, after all, I can't get too carried away. "Next time I'm driving and you're getting drunk. Better yet, Uber, next time we are Ubering here so I can get drunk with you."

"We can switch to pool if you want," I suggest. I don't want him to have a bad time while he's with me. This is supposed to be fun, but I forgot how competitive he gets.

"We can play a few more games, then we can switch to pool."

"Haven't had enough ass kicking, eh?"

"Eh? You Canadian?" he nudges me slightly with his elbow.

"No, just been spending way too much time with one."

"Not enough time, you mean," he corrects me.

"Right. Not nearly enough time."

"He must be pretty special."

"He is." He smiles from ear to ear. His whole face lights up. "He needs a little work throwing darts, though."

"He's working on it."

"He's also pretty cute."

"He wants to kiss you right now."

"Then he should do it."

He leans in and kisses me. He runs his fingers through my hair and cups the back of my head as the kiss turns from innocent to a little more PG-13. The only thing to break us apart is the smell of wings. We both stop and look to the plate of wings that had been placed in front of us. We give the waitress a guilty look, like we just got caught with our hand in the cookie jar. She shakes her head at us and places napkins down on the table before walking away. Tyler and I look at each other and burst out laughing. We're like two horny teenagers who haven't learned self control yet. I haven't felt this way in so long. Actually, I don't think I've felt this way ever.

We eat our wings and Tyler agrees that they're some of the best he's had, although now he will have to workout extra hard tomorrow. You would think wings wouldn't be the best food to eat on a date but I don't really care. I love wings and I especially love the wings here. Life is too short to pretend to be someone you're not. I'm not going to hold back. What's the use in that? If you're going to be spending a significant amount of time with the person, they're going to learn who you truly are sooner or later. It might as well be sooner so you don't waste their time or your own.

"My friends would kill me if they knew we were here without them," I say as I step up to start the next game.

"Are you ashamed of me?"

"No, of course not."

"You don't want them to meet me because I'm your dirty little secret." He giggles.

"You're ridiculous."

"Cougar." He smiles wide, proud of himself.

"Come here. I'll prove I'm not ashamed." I take my phone out, open Snapchat, and we take a selfie. I write on the picture 'kicking this guy's ass in darts'.

"Hey! Don't write that."

"But it's true."

"Fine," he pouts. I smile as I post the selfie to Snapchat after saving it to my phone. "How did you get so good at this anyway?"

"My dad taught me. He used to have me stand on a stool so I was level with the board."

"That must have been adorable."

"It was adorable until I started beating all of his friends."

He laughs. "Of course you did." I take my turn and finally hit the bullseye. Just once, though. That's not good enough for me. "Show off."

"I haven't even begun to show off."

"You're hot when you talk like that."

"Thank you." I blush a little. "Just when I talk like that, though?"

"Well no, all the time, but especially when you talk like that."

"I'll keep that in mind." I hand him the darts. "You're hot all the time too."

He smiles. "Thanks." He hands the darts back to me. "Show off a bit."

"No, not tonight. I'm not even on my game tonight."

"Come on, give me a little taste."

I put my hand on the back of his head and pull him down for a kiss. "How's that for a little taste?"

He smiles as he rests his forehead against mine and looks into my eyes. "Not what I meant, but it was a great taste."

I open my mouth to say something back when I hear someone behind us clearing their throat. I ignore it, thinking it's gotta be for someone else. They repeat themselves a few more times, each time getting louder and sounding more annoyed. I look back over my shoulder to see my best friend, Faith, standing there. I almost jump, I was not expecting to see her, or my friend Rose, who is also here. Tyler looks at me confused. "My friends are here," I explain as I point to both of them.

"Ohhh, you're in trouble. So busted," he bellows. "It looks like your dirty little secret's out." I smack him on the arm and he laughs.

"Hey guys, funny seeing you here," I say, feeling a little guilty.

"We saw your snap and figured we should stop by," Faith explains.

"Tyler, this is Faith and Rose, my closest friends. Guys, Tyler."

"It's nice meeting you, ladies. It should have been sooner but this one wants to keep me all to herself."

"Not true," I object.

"So true," Rose states, "but it's good to finally meet you, Tyler."

"You let her show off in darts? You poor man," Faith says as she surveys our area, "and you had wings without us? That's just wrong."

"I could order us more wings," Tyler offers.

"You mean I could order us more wings," I chime in.

He rolls his eyes. "If they want wings I'll get them wings."

"Oh it's ok, we don't need any. I was just busting balls," Faith says as she sits down on the stool that is against the wall near our dart board. "We're just going to watch."

"And ask Tyler a bunch of embarrassing questions," Rose adds as she sits next to Faith.

"Please don't," I beg.

"Fire away, I'm not shy, give me your worst" Tyler challenges.

They confer with each other before looking back at Tyler with smiles on their faces. I don't even want to know what they've come up with. He pulls a stool up next to them and sits down. I don't know how he got out of taking his turn but I start to throw.

"So Tyler, how many women have you slept with?" Faith asks. I almost throw a dart at her head for asking.

"Faith...don't," I snap.

"Already did." Faith and Rose turn to Tyler for his answer.

"I don't kiss and tell," Tyler says smugly, thinking that's going to get him out of it. His cheeks are so pink from blushing, his whole face is pink really. I'm sure he wasn't expecting a question like that.

"We asked about sex, not kissing," Rose retorts.

"Leave him alone, guys," I plead.

"He said fire away and we fired away," Faith says.

"Give me your worst I believe was the other part of that sentence," Rose chimes in.

"A lot. It's been a lot," Tyler confesses.

"Tyler, you don't have to..." I begin to say.

"It's ok. I don't care." He walks over to me and puts his arm around me and kisses my temple. "You already know and you still like me so what does it matter that your friends know?"

I instinctively lean into him. "Because it's personal and they shouldn't be asking."

"We're sorry. We weren't expecting to actually get an answer," Rose says.

"I'm an open book. Anything else you want to know?" Tyler asks as he takes the darts from me.

"Plenty, but we will let you take your turn."

He smiles and steps up to the tape to take his turn. I sit down on the stool he was sitting in. "I should kill you guys," I say in a hushed tone so he doesn't hear.

"We were just messing around," Rose whispers back.

"He's so much hotter in person, Amy, you lucky bitch," Rose says, a little too loud. Tyler looks over his shoulder in our direction and smirks.

"Could you be any more embarrassing?" I scold. "And this is my date, dammit."

"We wanted to meet him and you took him to our place. You should have known we were going to show up. You shouldn't have posted it on Snapchat."

I sigh. "What do you guys think?"

Tyler throws his last dart and it barely makes it onto the board. It's hanging onto the edge for dear life. "He sucks at darts."

"The both of you are no help whatsoever," I complain.

Tyler puts the darts back in the holder by the board. "I'm ready to switch to pool, something I'm more familiar with." He looks at me. "Unless you're a pro at that too."

"I'm not as good at pool."

"She's being modest," Rose says.

"I can at least handle myself in pool." He puts his hands on my hips and pulls me close. "Is pool ok with you?"

"Of course." He kisses me. "I'll go easy on you."

"No more kisses for you." I pout my lower lip out and look as pathetic as possible. "Ok fine, one more kiss." He kisses my lip.

"Are we going to be playing pool or tonsil hockey?" Faith asks.

"I am a professional hockey player," he says matter of factly. It leaves the two of them speechless, which is not an easy thing to do.

We gather around a free pool table and decide that Tyler and I will play against each other first and then one of them will play the winner. "You can break," Tyler says as he picks out a stick. Faith and Rose nod their heads no, warning him that maybe that isn't the best idea. "Or maybe I should. You kicked my ass pretty good in darts. I need to redeem myself somehow."

"I'm good either way." I'm not going to tell Tyler this, but we also have a pool table that I've been playing on since I could remember. I wouldn't call myself the best, but I'm not terrible either.

"So confident."

"Maybe," I coyly reply.

"What are you not telling me?" he suspiciously asks after breaking, a solid ball falls into the pocket.

"Your ass looks good in those jeans." I'm not lying, it does, but getting him flustered to knock him off his game might have been my motive for telling him right in this moment.

"Wow, Amy, really?" Faith says.

"What? It does." I smirk. She knows what I'm doing. It's not the first time I've used compliments or flirting against a guy, not like I need the help, but you take the any advantage you can in competition.

Tyler, with his growing pink cheeks and ears, takes his next turn and nothing goes in. He gives me a side eye glare and I laugh. "I can play dirty too, you know," I says as he takes a seat on a stool.

"How am I playing dirty?" I ask as I step up to the table.

"Just go." He sounds annoyed but he has a smile on his face. He's loving this.

I line up to my shot and hit the ball. It bounces off of the side of the entrance to the pocket. Not something I planned on happening. That was an easy shot. I guess I'm just going to have an off night all around.

"You're going to be like that with him?" Rose asks.

"It wasn't on purpose, I swear," I defend myself.

"Be like what?" Tyler questions.

"She's a hustler," Faith replies.

I scoff. "Only with guys who deserve to be taught a lesson."

"Oh yeah?" He stands up to take his turn and puts his hand on my hip as he walks passed me and pulls me close. "That's so hot," he whispers in my ear, then nibbles on my ear lobe. "Do I need to be taught a lesson?" I look up at him and he raises his eyebrows a few times.

"In the worst way." I smile and take my seat.

"Are we going to have to hose you two off?" Faith teases.

"No. We're good."

The game doesn't go as smoothly as I would have liked it to and Tyler wins. I'm a little glad he won because now he's beaming. Of course there is shit talk that comes with that, but his smile is worth it.

Faith and Rose flip a coin and Faith wins. She gets to play against Tyler. Rose and I sit down to watch. The waitress brings over another plate of wings and places it down on our table. I look at her and the wings, confused. "I didn't order these," I say as I lift up the plate to hand back to her.

"He did," she replies as she points at Tyler. Tyler smiles a cheesy grin and sets back up to break. I didn't even see him order. I put the plate down on the table in front of us.

"Thank you, Tyler, Amy was going to let us starve," Rose says as he grabs a wing.

"I said I would order you guys some if you wanted them. You refused."

Faith replies to me but I can't understand a word she's saying as she has wing meat in her mouth. I know it was something smart ass because she has a big shit eating grin on her face. I just roll my eyes at her and turn my attention back to the game.

"So Tyler, I've been wondering about something," Faith begins. I brace myself for another inappropriate question to come out of her mouth. Tyler looks to her and waits for her to continue. "Why haven't you posted any pictures of you and Amy on Instagram? Don't want anyone to know about her?" Oh boy, here we go.

"It's not that. I don't post a lot of personal stuff on Instagram. It's really more for her protection than anything, though. My fans can get crazy," he explains, "I've posted pictures and video of her on my Snapchat, though, that's private."

"You know we are going to need that username,right?" Rose chimes in.

He looks over his shoulder at her. "I don't know if you deserve it. What do you think, Amy?"

"Hmmm, they did crash our date so I'm leaning towards no."

"She's the boss, sorry," he says with a shrug.

Both Faith and Rose get up in my face and start squawking at me at the same time. Tyler is standing next to them giggling his head off. I look at the spectacle before me and laugh. These are the people I choose to spend my time with.

"Enough, enough. If Tyler wants to give it, he can give it. It's really not up to me."

Tyler takes his phone out of his pocket and opens Snapchat. "Here's my snapcode. You guys have to promise not to give my name out to anyone, though, I'm serious. This is the one thing I have that's just for the people closest to me." They each take turns scanning his snapcode to add him. "Oh look, I got some follow requests on Snapchat. Denied!" He cracks up, hysterical.

Faith looks at me. "He thinks he's funny."

"He thinks he's hilarious," I correct her.

"This is why you don't date children, Amy," Rose jokes.

"I'm all man. Don't you worry about that," Tyler retorts.

"How about you guys get back to playing." This date has turned into a bit of a disaster. I guess I can't really even call it a date anymore. I should have known better than to post that we were here. I brought this upon myself. I really wanted to have a fun night out with Tyler doing something I was more familiar with.

"Take my turn for me," Tyler says as he hands Rose his stick. She takes it from him and he replaces her on the stool. He puts his hand on my shoulder and massages it a few times. "You ok?"

"Yeah." I look into his eyes and smile. He smiles back. "I was expecting tonight to be just us."

"I know, but this is fun too, and it will be just us again eventually."

"True."

"Your friends are lunatics but they mean well."

I laugh. "I guess I'll keep them."

"It's important to have close friends who will have your back. We will have plenty more date nights." He gives me a quick kiss. "Now, I need to go finish kicking your best friend's ass in pool."

"Good luck with that, buddy, Rose did not do you any favors by taking your place," Faith shouts over the pool table at him.

He walks over to Rose and takes the stick from her. "I'll take that back. Thanks for trying."

"It's too late. The damage is done. I'm about to win," Faith boasts. "Corner pocket." Faith points to the pocket she wants to his the eight ball into with her stick. She sinks the ball in the pocket and pumps her fist up into the air to celebrate her victory. "Next."

Tyler shakes his head. "I can't believe that just happened."

"Well believe it. It happened. Rose, get up," Faith says as she begins to place the pool balls back up on the table.

Tyler sits down next to me and grabs a wing from the plate. Rose and Faith start their game. "So, are either of you cougars too?" Tyler asks with a smirk on his face.

"Tyler..." I begin to say.

"Why? Do you have a single friend?" Faith replies.

"You're married!" I exclaim.

"Don't ruin this, Amy," she says.

"You're terrible. I'm telling Scott."

"Don't be a party pooper," Tyler says as he wraps his arm around my back. I look at him and glare. He kisses the tip of my nose and I can't stop myself from smiling. He smiles back at me. Every time I smile, he smiles, and the same goes for when he smiles.

"Y'all are too cute together," Rose gushes.

We all joke around, finish another plate of wings, and watch Faith win yet another pool game. She's on fire tonight, which is not surprising, she is the best in pool out of the three of us. They decide to let us get back to our date and get ready to head out.

"It was so great meeting you, Tyler, it's nice to see that you're actually real," Faith says as they hug goodbye.

"Nice meeting you as well. Thanks for crashing our date," Tyler says. He turns to Rose. "Rose, make sure she behaves."

Rose laughs. "Not a chance in hell that will ever happen. Thanks for being so cool with us, and for taking care of our friend."

Tyler looks at me and smiles. "She's great. Of course."

"Have a good rest of the date. Bye."

We all finish saying our goodbyes and they leave. "One more game?" I ask as I stand up from the stool.

"Sure."

I rack up the balls and break. Both solid and stripes fall in and I go with stripes. I set up for my next shot and as I am about to pull my stick back I feel Tyler come up behind me. He puts his hands on my hips as he presses up against my butt and leans over my back to whisper in my ear, "you have perfect form." I lean the stick up against the table and just slightly move my hips from side to side a few times, grinding on him. If he wants to play dirty, I can play dirty.

"Don't start something you can't finish," I say as I continue to grind on him.

He runs his hands up the sides of my body and back down, stopping back on my hips. He grabs on a little bit. He kisses along my jawline and down to my neck. "I could finish and so could you," he retorts as he slides his hands from my hips to my butt. That was so hot. My heart rate is rising rapidly.

"We should probably stop," I say as I begin to look around the room, eyes are starting to turn in our direction. We are also two seconds from ripping each other's clothes off and having sex in front of everyone and I really don't want to get banned from coming back here.

"You don't really want to stop do you?"

I stand up straight. "Of course not but..." He peppers kisses down my neck and wraps his arms around me. "You're driving me crazy."

He kisses up my neck and around my ear. "Did it just get hot in here all of a sudden?" he says into my ear. I turn around, grab Tyler's face, and pull him in for a kiss. He grabs onto my ass and pulls me up against him as he feverishly kisses me back. I run my fingers through his hair, knocking the hat off of his head, as he pushes me up against the edge of the pool table. We pull away from each other, out of breath. "Ok, maybe we should get out of here."

"Yeah, we need to cool off a bit. I know just the place."

"Cool off? There is no cooling us off." He gives me a quick peck on the lips. "But this is your date. Lead the way." He picks his hat up off the the floor and places it back on his head.

I grab his hand and lead him through the bar and out to the parking lot. We get in my car and I start to drive. It was where I was planning to go anyway, Paciugo Gelato Caffe. Gelato will be the perfect thing to cool us off from the hotness that just happened in that bar. We pull up and park. Everyone in Dallas must have had the same idea as me because the place is packed. We get in the line and look at the flavor choices.

"Do you know what you're going to get?" I ask as I look at each one. They all look so good, I don't know how I'm going to make a decision.

"Mint chocolate chip is the only ice cream I like so that's what I'm getting."

"That's one of my go-to's as well. I'll get something different, though."

"I'll give you a bite of mine."

"Aw thanks." I pause for a beat. "I'm sorry tonight went horribly wrong. That's not how I envisioned the date going at all," I say, bummed.

"I had a great time tonight. Don't worry about it. Sure, we had some unexpected guests but they didn't stay for too long and now they can say they've met me and I'm glad I met them."

"Really? That was fun for you?"

"Yeah. I had fun. You should have too."

"I did. They just can be a bit much."

"I can handle them. They were fine." He kisses me. "But you can still make it up to me if you want." He raises his eyebrows seductively.

A mischievous smile appears on my face. "I know the perfect way to make it up to you."

"Oh yeah? I'm looking forward to it." He kisses my temple and wraps his arm around my back.

When it's our turn to order Tyler gets his mint chocolate chip and I order one for myself along with a few other flavors. He looks at me confused as to why I'm ordering so many. "Can we get those to go?" I ask the clerk, then turn to Tyler and smile. I raise my eyebrows at him, just as he did to me.

"Are you serious?"

"So serious."

He smiles so wide and turns his attention to behind the glass where they have begun to scoop our gelato into cups. He taps his leg impatiently. He is now eager to get home. To be honest, I've never done anything like this before but I'm still on a high from making out in the bar. I want him all over me again, I need it, my body is aching for it.

I pay for our gelato and Tyler practically snatches the bags out of the cashier's hands, takes me by the hand, and drags me out of the door and to my car. I chuckle at his eagerness to get home. "Do you want me to drive?" he asks as he holds his hand out for the keys.

"Why? So you can go 90 the whole way? No. I'll drive."

He pouts before getting in. He puts the bags on his lap and peeks inside at all of the different flavors I bought. Mint chocolate chip, strawberry, toasted coconut, french vanilla bean, banana cream pie. He looks up with a smirk. "I may have to try these other flavors."

"You should. They're all really good."

I drive to Tyler's house. I don't drive 90 miles per hour, but I do drive faster than I normally would. When we get inside Tyler puts the gelato in the freezer and lets the dogs out. He walks back inside, closing the door behind him. "They can stay out there for a bit, it's a nice night."

He smiles as he walks towards me and hugs me when he gets close enough. I know what I was planning on doing, but where do I start? Do I just go for it? Or do we lead up to it a bit? I admit I'm not too adventurous when it comes to this kind of stuff. "Ready for dessert?" It came out like a bad pickup line, but I actually mean it as a legitimate question. I wish I was more smooth than this, but I honestly don't know where to begin.

"So ready." He opens the freezer and takes a pint out. "I know which one I want, which one do you want first?"

"Strawberry."

He smiles and grabs the strawberry pint and puts them both on the island counter. His cheeks are as pink as the strawberry gelato. I'm getting the feeling he doesn't really know where to start either. At least I'm not alone. The whole mood is going to be killed if we don't start this back up soon.

I take the snapback off of his head and throw it across the room. His hair flops down and into his face. He looks at where the hat landed and back at me. His eyes move to my lips, or lower, I can't tell. My top is pretty low cut. He looks back up at me, biting his lower lip slightly. He leans down and gives me a few pecks on my lips, teasing me. He's smiling the whole time, loving this. The next time he comes in for a peck I make sure he doesn't get to pull away so easily. I nibble his bottom lip, gently grabbing it with my teeth so he can't pull away again.

He reaches behind me and grabs his container of mint chocolate chip gelato. He gets a spoonful of it and has some. "Oh, it's so good." He leans his hands on either side of me on the counter behind me and kisses my neck. The coldness of his lips and mouth catches me off guard and I suck in a breath of air. I put my hand on the back of his head and run my fingers up through his hair. I always love when my neck is kissed, but adding the colder temperature makes it so much hotter. He grabs another spoonful of his gelato. "You have to try this." He holds the spoon up and moves it towards my mouth but turns it over before I can get a bite. The glob of gelato lands on my chest and slowly trickles down my cleavage, leaving a trail behind it. "Oops."

"So clumsy, Tyler.." I look down at my chest where the gelato has begun to pool. "Great, it got on my shirt."

"Sorry. Butter fingers over here."

"You should probably clean up your mess."

"Gladly." He starts where the gelato fell, sucking up what's left, before he makes his way down my chest with his tongue. "This shirt's in the way, and dirty, might as well get rid of it." He grabs the bottom of my shirt and lifts it up and over my head. He throws it across the room and it lands close to where I threw his hat. He looks down at my chest, this time I know for sure. "So much better." He licks up what's left of the gelato that had stopped at my bra. "You probably want that bra off, you don't want that to get messed up either."

"Good idea." I start to reach behind my back to unhook it but he grabs both of my wrists and puts them back in front of me.

"I'll help you with that. But really, have some first." I grab my own spoon and have some of his mint chocolate chip gelato. It's so smooth and creamy and the little chocolate pieces are like little nuggets of heaven. He kisses me as he reaches around me and places his hands on my lower back. His tongue is still cold from the gelato and it meets mine, which is colder than his. His hands rest on my butt as our tongues dance with each other. I kiss his neck as he starts to run his hands up the skin on my back. He mutters something like "fuck". I can't quite make it out because it was low, but there's no doubt he's enjoying this as much as I am. He unclips my bra. I drop my arms from his chest, where I had placed my hands, and I let it fall to our feet on the floor. I kick it aside so we don't step on it. He takes a step back and looks at me with a smile on his face. "So fucking sexy."

"Thanks, Tyler." I notice there is now gelato on his shirt, probably from when we were kissing and it transferred to him from my chest. The perfect excuse to get his shirt off next. "You've got something on your shirt."

He looks down to look at it. "So I do. Damn."

"We are both so sloppy tonight."

"I guess I should lose the shirt. No use in standing here with a messy shirt." He takes his shirt off and places it on one of the stools.

"I have to try some of my strawberry before it starts to melt."

"Yeah you do. I bet it's good."

I look around the room to see where I can have him lay down. This isn't going to work well with us standing up. His dining room table is pretty sturdy and not too high so it should be easy to get up onto. It's perfect. I grab the containers and place them down on the table. He watches me and soon follows behind me. "Get on the table," I demand.

"Yes ma'am," he concedes, "bossy, I like it." Tyler sits on the table top first before lying down. "Ooo, it's cold on my back."

"It's going to get a whole lot colder."

"But so much hotter." He puts his hand on the back of my neck and pulls me down to kiss me. His kisses have been getting more desperate as the night has gone on. As we kiss I feel my way around the table, searching for a gelato container and a spoon. It's getting harder and harder to contain myself as our kissing gets more and more passionate. His hands have begun to wander. One pulls me closer towards him and the other slowly creeps up my thigh.

I open my eyes to figure out where I put my gelato and grab a spoonful of strawberry. I pull away and drop the gelato down in the middle of his chest. I can see his muscles tense up under the coolness. I let the gelato run down the middle of his chest and stop where his stomach starts. I start at the top of his chest and run my tongue all the way down, lapping up the strawberry goodness along the way. His skin is so perfect. I need more.

I drop another big spoonful of gelato onto Tyler's chest, this time I want to try his mint chocolate chip. It lands right on his nipple and I smirk as I lower my head and wrap my lips around the gelato and his nipple. I don't take the gelato into my mouth right away. I run my tongue over the tip of his nipple which makes him tighten his grip on my thigh then move his hand all the way up and in between my legs. I look up at him and smile before taking the ice cream and his nipple in my mouth and swirling my tongue around it.

I immediately go for more and drop the gelato, that is starting to melt, onto his stomach. I drop another spoonful onto his belly button. I make sure I take my time running my tongue down his toned stomach, stopping at his belly button. I circle my tongue around his belly button and he starts to rub his thumb back and forth in between my legs. It's like a shockwave going through my body. Some of the gelato has dripped past his belly button so I follow the trail downwards.

He reaches over, grabs my hand, and places it on his growing bulge. I have to lift my head and take a look at it from the feel of the size of it under my hand. I look at Tyler and smile, he smiles back. "You like what you feel?" he asks suggestively.

I begin to rub my hand up and down his shaft, which makes him throw his head back a bit. "I do. Do you?"

"God, yes."

I continue to rub him over his pants as I go back to where I left off with the gelato. I drop a bit more on his stomach. This time licking him from his belly button down to the waistband of his jeans. He hasn't taken his hand off of me the whole time, slowly rubbing his thumb back and forth in between my legs. My desperation is beginning to match his as his slow movements begin to pick up pace and aren't so slow anymore.

"I need to get in there," I snarl as I tug at his waistband. I am trying to keep my composure but I'm starting to lose control. I unbutton and unzip his jeans and he lifts himself up so I can pull them down. As soon as I pull his jeans down I see just how big he is as he's not wearing any underwear under his jeans. I wasn't expecting that. "Jesus, Tyler."

"Surprise?" He can't stop himself from giggling. It's not enough to take me out of the mood, but I can't help laughing along with him. "I told you I don't always wear underwear."

"You could have warned me."

"And miss the look on your face when my junk waved hello? No way," he says with a smirk, his dimples so pronounced.

"It is impressive."

"What's even more impressive is what I can do with it."

"Same."

"Show me."

I take the biggest spoonful of gelato in my mouth hold it in there until it all melts and my mouth is as cold as I can stand it. I reposition myself so I can look up at him as I lower myself down and take his whole length in my mouth. His eyes go wide as coolness of my mouth envelopes his now very erect cock. The gelato I was holding in my mouth drips down his shaft while I close my lips around the head. I swirl my tongue around the head a few times. He grabs onto my hair as I lick down the shaft and then back up, taking some of the melted gelato with me. I do the same with my lips, sucking up the rest of the gelato that was left. I begin to go back down on him when he pulls my head up gently and slowly by my hair. I look at him with a bit of confusion. "More," he says as he eyes the container of gelato.

I smile then put some more gelato in my mouth, repeating the process. This time he doesn't pull me up, not that I would let him. I've gotten into a rhythm. I massage his balls, which are sticky and gooey from the gelato dripping down, as I bob my head up and down and sucking. He pulls my head up once more and feeds me another spoonful of gelato. I'm guessing he is really enjoying the coldness of my mouth on his cock. This time I take my time taking him into my mouth. As soon as I get down to the base of his shaft I quicken my pace while I wrap my lips around it. I wrap my hand around it as I take the head of his penis in my lips and roll my tongue over and around it. I can feel him tensing up, he's gotta be close to cumming. I go back to sucking him off until he cums. I swallow and lift my head up and smile at him.

"That was fucking amazing," he says as he sits up.

I have a little bit of gelato and swish it around in my mouth so I can kiss him without him getting a taste of his own cum in the process. He sits with his legs hanging off of the table, jeans around his ankles. I stand in front of him admiring the mess we've made so far. He grabs my ass and pulls me up against him. I kiss him and he squeezes harder, which drives me absolutely wild.

He grabs onto my hips and spins us around so my back is now to the table. "It's your turn," he says before kissing me. He kisses down to my neck and I kiss the tip of his ear while I run my fingers through his hair. Be bites down on my collarbone a bit before looking into my eyes and smiling. His eyes are devilish and full of passion. He lifts me up and sits me down on the table. He unbuttons my jeans and pulls the zipper down. "Let's get these fucking pants off." He pulls my jeans all the way off and tosses them aside. He takes a moment to look at me fully naked. "You're somfucking hot."

He looks at our now very melted containers of gelato. "I ordered another mint chocolate chip, it's in the freezer if you want to continue with that one," I say as I prop myself up on my hands behind me. Tyler pulls his pants up and walks over to the freezer to get the other container of mint chocolate chip.

He walks back over to me and places the container down on the table. "You're going to love this. Lay back and enjoy."

I lie back on the table. Tyler was right, the table top is cool on my back. He takes a spoonful of gelato and drops it right in the middle of my chest. He licks from the base of my chest up. His hand slowly creeps up my thigh. Once he's finished with that he quickly goes for more, dropping and the cold and creamy gelato on one of my breasts. He takes my nipple in his mouth and flicks his tongue from side to side and gently sucks. His hand makes it up my thigh and between my legs and looks up at me with a mischievous smile. "So wet."

"Uh huh," I barely manage to squeak out as he teases my opening with his finger.

He moves over to my other breast, dropping more gelato on it and repeating the process. After he finishes that glob of gelato he takes another spoonful and drops it on the middle of my chest and lets it slide down to my stomach. My breaths getting heavier and heavier as he continues to tease me with his hand. He runs his tongue down my body, teasing me with one hand and tweaking my nipple between his fingers. A drawn out, "oh god," escapes my lips.

He looks up at me and smirks, proud of what he's already been able to accomplish. He drops some more gelato into my bellybutton and circles his tongue around it, lapping up every last drop. I put my hand on the back of his head and massage his scalp, running my fingers through his hair as he goes lower and lower.

He spreads my thighs further apart with his massive hands before taking a spoonful of gelato in his mouth and dropping another one in between my legs. He quickly dives in and licks up the gelato with his frozen tongue, licking me along with it. I let out a moan I've never heard come out of my mouth before. A moan that makes him go in for more.

I grab the back of his head and keep him in place as he flicks his tongue up and down my opening. I grab a fist full of hair when his tongue ever so slightly touches my clit. I'm already about to explode and that's going to just send me over the top. He goes for one more spoon of gelato, making his tongue ice cold again, and starts focusing on my clit. Back and forth, up and down, circles. I start to grind my hips a bit with his rhythm, no longer able to keep quiet. I scream out in ecstasy as he works my vagina like he it's never been worked before. I can feel my orgasm throughout my whole body, I'll probably be feeling it for days.

He lifts his head as he licks his lips and looks around at the empty gelato containers, the melted gelato on the table that didn't make it into our mouths, and back at me and smiles. "We have made quite a mess."

I laugh in between breaths, breaths I'm still trying to catch after the mind blowing experience that is Tyler's tongue. "You are incredible." I sit up and dangle my legs off the side of the table. He stands in front of me and hugs me, pulling my naked body up against his shirtless one. Electricity flows through my veins when our skin touches. He kisses my cheek then helps me off of the table. I'm able to survey the damage we've done. "We really did make a mess, didn't we?"

"A fun mess."

"That's one way to describe it."

"I think you've more than made up for your friends crashing our date."

"Remind me to thank them."

"Just don't take them out for gelato." He giggles at his own joke.

"It's easy to say I will never look at gelato the same way again."

"Not without blushing."

I smile. "No, probably not." I look down at myself and I have gelato everywhere. There's no way I will able to put my clothes on without cleaning off first. My shirt is already a bit dirty. "Would it be ok if I used your shower? I think that's the only way I can wash all of this off."

"Yeah, of course. I'll clean up down here then take one after you."

"Thanks." I pull his head down for one more kiss before grabbing my clothes and heading upstairs to the master bathroom.

The master bathroom is just as incredible as the rest of the house. The shower is bigger than any of the bathrooms in my house. I always admire it when I'm in here. This is the first time I am getting to use it. I place my neatly folded clothes down on the sink counter that runs the length of the whole wall and turn the shower on.

I step in the shower and let the warm water run all over my body, rinsing the remainder gelato down the drain. It feels so good. I may stand here forever. It's such a relief not to be sticky anymore. I close my eyes and let the water hit my face. I'm so zoned out that I don't hear the shower door open, I just feel Tyler's arms wrap around me. I look over my shoulder at him and he kisses me. "I started to clean up but this sounded more fun."

"Glad you could join me."

I turn around and admire his naked body as the water flows over him. He is the sexiest man I've ever seen. His hair flattens on his head and he pushes it out of his eyes. He grabs the loofa and a bottle of body wash. "I'll wash you, and you can wash me."

"Ok."

He starts at my shoulders and moves to my chest from there. "I have to be honest, I've never done anything like that before," he confesses.

"Neither have I. You brought out the animal in me."

He smiles. "I'm glad. It was hot as hell."

"But so messy."

"The mess was worth it. We can clean up after we get out."

He stands behind me, washing my lower back. He kisses my shoulder a few times before moving the loofa up to wash my shoulders. Somehow the gelato got everywhere, including my back. "You're so beautiful," he says as he spins me back around to face him. "I couldn't have imagined our date ending as perfectly as this"

"I love this too." He places the loofa down on one of the corner shelves and hugs me. "You got your gelato body all over me!" I exclaim.

He giggles. "Most of it rinsed off already." He cups my chin with both hands and kisses me. "But I can wash you again if you'd like."

"No, it's fine. Your turn."

I grab the loofa and squirt some more body wash onto it and get it lathered up. I start at his chest and make my way down his body. I think I'm enjoying this way more than I should be. It's only a shower.

After I finish washing him I take some shampoo, massage it into his hair, then shape his hair into a mohawk. He tries to look up at it. "Oh yeah? Is this the look I should be going for?"

"Oh definitely," I say sarcastically, but I only half mean it sarcastically. It kinda works for him.

"What about you?" He asks as he squirts some shampoo into his hand. He massages it into my hair and tries to make my hair into a mohawk as well. It doesn't quite work as my hair is too long. It just flops down in front of my face. He laughs and pushes the hair out of my face. "Guess not."

"Oh well. No mohawk for me."

He sticks his head under the shower head and lets the water wash away the shampoo and his hair style. "None for me either." I do the same. He looks me up and down and smiles. "So sexy. I'm a lucky guy."

"I'm pretty lucky myself. You're pretty sexy yourself."

He looks down at his body. "What, this? You like all of this?"

I put my hand on his chest and run it down his body and stop at his abs. "All of that." I squeeze his butt. "That too."

"Oo, naughty." He pulls me up against him, hugging me. His hand sander down my back and land on my butt. He gives both cheeks a gentle squeeze. "Yours too." He kisses my lips, I passionately kiss him back. "We should get out of here before we both will need another shower."

"If you want," I playfully say.

He turns the water off, opens the shower door, and steps out. "As much as it kills me, I do."

He picks up the towel I chose for myself and wraps it around my back and pulls me close to him. He rests his forehead against mine, slightly smiling. We stand in this moment for a little while, just listening to each other breathe. He finally steps back, kisses the tip of my nose, and closes the towel around me. He grabs a towel and we begin to dry off.

After we dry off and get dressed we go down to the kitchen to clean up our mess. By the time we are done it's pretty late and I really have to get going. I don't want to leave, though, I want to stay here with him longer. Grace is at home and I need to take care of her.

Tyler plops down on the couch and pats the spot next to him. "I can't stay any longer, I have to get home," I reluctantly say as I stand in front of him.

"No, you can't go," he whines.

"I don't want to."

"Then don't." He takes my hands and pulls me down onto the couch next to him.

I stand back up. "I can't. Grace is home and needs to get fed and walked."

He stands up as well. "Call someone to go take care of her. Stay."

I grab my purse and start walking towards the door. He's giving me his best pathetic puppy dog look and I can't let it work on me. "It's late. No one is going to be able to. I'll see you again soon."

He follows behind me. "But we didn't even get to cuddle," he complains.

"I know, but a lot of other great things happened."

He hugs me. "Please, please, please stay?" He begs as he continues to hold me close.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I have to."

He lets go of me and hangs his head. "Ok," he pouts.

"I had a great time with you. I hope my planned date that didn't go as planned at all was a good one."

"Are you kidding me? I had the best time. That doesn't even include what we did when we got back here because that just put it on another level. I'm talking about getting to see you do something you're passionate about. You've been so amazing getting thrown into my lifestyle without knowing what's involved. I want to see more of this side of you, the more comfortable side." He kisses me. "Can't wait for the next one."

"Neither can I."

I open the door to leave and he grabs my hand, pulling me back inside. "No don't."

I smile and laugh. He's being incredibly cute and making it impossible to leave, but I really have to as much as I don't want to. "I'll see you soon, Tyler." He lets go of my hand and walks with me to my car. He gives me one last hug and kiss and opens my door for me, letting me get in, which surprises me. I thought he was going to beg me to stay again. He closes my door once I get situated. I wave goodbye to him before pulling away, he waves back. Leaving him is so hard to do, tonight especially, but I always have next time to look forward to. I can't wait.


	6. FaceTime Will Have to Do

Tyler has been on a long road trip and I've been missing him a lot more than I thought I would. He's had games and traveling every other day so we haven't had much time to talk at all. It's been an adjustment getting used to the fact that he's not home all of the time and I can't just see him whenever I want to. Today is his day off and he's been out with the guys. We made plans to FaceTime and I'm anxiously waiting for his call. It's crazy that we have to schedule time to talk, but I'm starting to understand that it comes with the territory of dating a professional athlete.

I'm propped up in bed with Grace by my side. Her head perks up once the ringtone goes off. She's so used to it by now. She knows I'm going to be talking to someone. I accept the call and smile so big when his face pops up on the screen. It's so great to see him.

Tyler looks to be propped up in bed too. I can see from his chest and up. He's not wearing a shirt and the cord from his ear buds rests perfectly in the middle of his chest. His hair looks soft and messy. I wish I was there to run my fingers through it. I have him on speaker so Grace can hear his voice.

"Hey, sorry I'm calling so late. I got caught up in a card game," he apologizes with a sleepy voice.

"It's ok. I know you're busy. I've got you now."

"I've been looking forward to this all day. This road trip has been crazy so far."

"Yeah, I know, I've been watching your games."

"Oh yeah?" he asks as one of his eyebrows arches.

"Yeah, I'm starting to understand a little better now."

"When I get home we'll watch a game together and I'll teach you."

"I'd like that."

"I'll have to score a goal for you tomorrow."

"No pressure."

"It's going to happen. I'll make sure of it."

I love his confidence. It's so sexy. "Ok, I'm going to hold you to it then."

"And if I don't?"

"You'll just have to make it up to me."

"Hmm, that's almost worth not scoring." He playfully raises his eyebrows a few times and laughs. "Is Grace there with you?"

I pan down next to me to show her to him. "Of course."

"Hey, Gracie!" he says in his puppy voice.

"Say hi to Tyler, Grace." She wags her tail. "She's wagging her tail." I show him.

"I miss you and your mommy." She lifts her head up and the pace of her tail wags quickens.

"We miss you too." I put the camera back on me. "She loves it when you talk to her."

He smiles. "I'm missing my guys too."

"I bet. And I'm sure they always miss you when you leave."

"Yeah they do. Gerry is still getting used to it but the other guys have been dealing with it for years."

"Gerry and I are in the same boat, still getting used to it."

He hangs his head. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Don't do that. Look up at me." He looks up and into the camera. I smile as if our eyes were really meeting. He smiles too. "It's worth it. You are, I mean." He blushes. I didn't even think it was possible to tell someone is blushing on FaceTime. "You're blushing so much I can see it on the shitty FaceTime video." I can't help teasing him.

"Shut up," he mumbles. He tries to cover his face with his hand but his dimples are peaking through.

"You can't hide that smile."

"Sometimes I don't feel worth it. I definitely don't deserve you."

"Don't say that. It's not true. I know you're not so proud of your past, but that doesn't matter. Who you are today is different. You treat me better than anyone has ever treated me. I know this is still new and we aren't quite sure what it is yet, but whatever it is I love it. You make me happy."

"You make me happy too," he mumbles. I can tell he's a little embarrassed to say it, and I heard it so I won't make him repeat it even though I should make him say it clearer. He takes a deep breath. "Anyway, wanna see my room?" He switches cameras and pans his phone around the room so I can see it.

"Wow, so fancy."

"You know it." He looks down. "I wish you were here," he mumbles once again. I know it's not easy for him to speak his feelings so I appreciate that he's at least trying to tell me how he feels in not so many ways. It'll come. I can tell.

"I do too. That bed looks big for just one person."

"Way too big."

"You'll be home in a few more days, though, so soon."

"Not soon enough." He switches the camera back to his face. "You look exhausted. Rough day at work?"

"Rough week, really. Been staying late to catch up on things. Going in early to help out other people. I've forgotten what the sun looks like."

"They work you too hard."

"It was my decision. I don't mind."

"Because you're a workaholic like me."

"Not satisfied until the job is done."

"Exactly."

I am going to have to figure out a better way to FaceTime with him. My arm always gets tired from holding the phone up. I need a tripod or something.

"I see that you're wearing my hoodie," he says, breaking the silence that came over us.

"It's chilly here today."

"Plus you miss me like crazy."

"Yes, that too. It helps a little to have a piece of you here. This has been harder than I thought."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Like I said, you're worth it."

He smiles. "It's hard for me too. I'm not really used to missing someone like this."

"At least we have this. We can see and talk to each other. Technology is great."

"True. I do enjoy our FaceTime sessions."

"I can't believe I'm here freezing in a hoodie and you're not wearing a shirt."

"I'm always hot."

"Yeah, you are."

He smiles and looks down at himself. "You like all of this?" He pans the camera down to show me more of his body.

"Very much. You have an amazing body."

"Thank you, so do you."

"Thanks."

"Although the hoodie is covering it up." He pouts his lower lip out and gives me a sad look.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?" He exaggerates the pout.

"What if I'm not wearing a shirt under this?"

"Even better." I unzip the hoodie to my chest, just enough to show that I'm really not wearing a shirt underneath. "Oh. You're not."

"Nope."

"Bra?"

"Nope."

"That's so fucking hot."

"What, this?" I ask as I start to pull the zipper down more, revealing my cleavage. This is not easy to do with one hand, but I manage.

"You're killing me. Keep going."

I look into the camera and smirk as I start to unzip more of the hoodie. I don't get far before my doorbell rings. Grace jumps off of the bed and runs to the front door. I quickly zip the hoodie back up. "Who could that be? I didn't order anything. Besides, it's kinda late for deliveries." Panic starts to set in. "Maybe I shouldn't open it."

"Maybe it's one of your friends."

I slowly get out of bed. "Yeah, maybe." I start to walk to the hallway.

"Be careful."

I stop in my tracks. "I'm freaking out a little."

"Bring me with you. Don't hang up." The doorbell rings again. Grace lets out a bark. She rarely barks. "You might as well see who it is."

"I really don't want to get murdered tonight."

"You're not going to get murdered."

I cautiously walk towards the front door, where Grace is sitting and waiting for me with her tail wagging. I switch cameras so I can show Tyler. "Look at this traitor. She can't wait to see who it is. Meanwhile I'm terrified."

"Don't be. I'm here with you."

"I appreciate the thought, Tyler, but you're not gonna be much help to me in Vancouver."

"Switch the camera back to you and open the door."

"Um, ok." I switch the camera to me and open the door. Standing before me is a guy holding the biggest bouquet of flowers I have ever seen. Orchids of all different colors. Light pink, hot pink, green, red, purple. There are so many of them too. My eyes go wide with amazement.

"Amy?" the delivery driver asks.

"Yes, that's me."

"These are for you. Would you like me to bring them inside?"

I watch as Grace is at his feet, smelling him, looking up at him for pets. I feel if he was here for evil that she would pick up on that and wouldn't be begging for attention. I hope anyway. "Um, sure, you can put them here." I point to the table I have set up right by the door so I don't have to invite him too far into the house. He places the vase down. "Thank you." He has me sign for the flowers and he leaves. I breathe a sigh of relief before stepping inside and closing the door.

"What was that all about?" Tyler asks. To be honest, I forgot we were still in a call. I am so much in awe of the flowers.

"Someone sent me flowers."

"Oh yeah? Are you seeing someone else?"

That pulls my attention away from the flowers and back to the phone. "What? No, of course not."

"Who could have sent you those then?"

"I don't know. They're so beautiful, though." I switch cameras to show him. "Orchids are one of my favorite flowers."

"Wow. That is massive. Someone must care an awful lot about you to send you those."

I switch the camera back to me. "Did...did you send these?"

He shrugs his shoulder coyly. "I don't know. You should probably read the card." I pluck the card out of the holder and turn it over. A huge smile appears on my face as I read. I look up at the camera overwhelmed with emotions, unable to speak. "What does it say?" He now has a smile that matches mine.

"Just because I've been thinking about you. Tyler."

He smiles. "What do you think?"

"I think you're a jerk!"

"What?" He asks, taken aback. "For sending you flowers?"

"No. Those are beautiful. I'm talking about you letting me think I was about to get murdered, then accusing me of seeing someone else knowing exactly what was going on."

"Oh." He starts giggling uncontrollably.

"It's so not funny."

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Besides all that, what do you think? Do you like them?"

"I love them. That was so sweet. Thank you."

"I know it's not easy dealing with me and my schedule. I wanted to show my appreciation for your patience."

"See, you do have a romantic side deep down in there somewhere."

"I don't know about that. I had a heck of a time trying to figure out what to say on the card and that's what I came up with."

"It's perfect. Thank you so much. I didn't think they made flower deliveries this late."

"They usually don't. I wanted to make sure I got to see your face when you saw them so I paid extra."

"I wish I could hug you right now. That's so sweet."

"I'll be home in a few days."

"I can't wait."

"Neither can I."

"I'm going to put these in the kitchen where there's more light then I'm going to get back in bed."

Once I put the vase down in the perfect spot in the kitchen I go back to my bedroom and get back in bed, Grace following behind me the whole time. Tyler has this permanent smile plastered on his face as I walk through my house. It's nice to feel like he's here with me. I miss him so much. I can't believe I've gotten this bad. I've never missed anyone like this before.

Grace snuggles up against my legs and sprawls out. I guess the excitement was too much for her. "I can't thank you enough for the flowers, Tyler, they're so beautiful."

"You deserve them." He smirks.

"What?"

"What? What?"

"What's that smirk for?"

"We could pick up where we left off."

I look down at my zippered up hoodie. "Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh."

"My arm's getting tired."

"Please?" I unzip the hoodie to where it was before the doorbell rang, the middle of my chest. "So hot."

"Now that you mention it, it is kinda hot in here all of a sudden." I unzip the rest of the hoodie. I don't open it, just let it fall where it does.

He lets out a whimper. "I wish I were there."

I open the hoodie a bit so I am revealing more. Not all of my boobs, just enough. "Do you miss this?" I ask suggestively. My shoulder is screaming to put the phone down right now, but I am having way too much fun so I press on.

"Yes, so much. I miss all of you."

I open the hoodie some more, revealing all of my boobs this time. "You miss these?"

"Fuuuuuuuck. You're killing me. Absolutely killing me."

"I should just take the hoodie off at this point, right?"

"Yes you should." I take my free arm out of the sleeve then switch hands and take the other arm out. I place the hoodie down next to me on the bed. It still is pretty chilly in my house so my nipples are hard. "You're so fucking sexy."

"So are you."

"I'd be all over you if I was there right now."

"I can just about feel your hands all over my body."

"It would be more than just my hands."

"Your lips? Your tongue? I want it all."

"I can practically taste you right now."

I notice a figure in my peripheral and look passed my phone towards it. It's Grace and she's now facing me, watching me, staring at me, and I swear she's judging me. I start laughing. I can't help it. "Oh my god, Grace, stop."

"What? What's funny? I thought we were...um, what's going on over there?" His cheeks are pink and he's so flustered.

"Grace is watching me and I know she has no idea what's going on but the look on her face...I can't, I just can't." I giggle a few more times before settling down. "Ok, sorry about that."

He sighs. "It's ok. I should, uh, yeah, I should get going."

"Are you sure?"

"Um, yeah. It's getting late and we both need our rest so yeah I'm going to go."

"Ok. You sure you don't need me to fly out there to help you take care of that?"

"If it were practical don't think I wouldn't be buying you a ticket right now. We will continue this when I get home."

"I'm sorry I got us all worked up."

"No sorries necessary. I loved this. I'll call you after the game tomorrow."

"I'll be watching."

"Have Grace come to the phone."

"Come here, Gracie, Tyler wants to say goodnight." I slightly tug on her collar and she comes over and lies down next to me. I hold the camera in front of her.

"Goodnight, Gracie, get good sleep." Her tail starts wagging at the sound of his voice. He smiles. "I can see her tail wagging."

"She loves you so much."

"Let me see you again." I hold the phone out in front of me. I have changed hands but this arm is also getting tired. "Have a good night. Don't work too hard, ok?"

"Ok, I'll try. Good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks. Bye." He waves at the camera, like he always does when we end a FaceTime, and ends the call.

I'm not going to lie, that talk we had about hands and tongues and lips has got my heart racing. I know he ended the call early to jerk off. It's no secret. I wish he were here. I don't have the energy to take care of myself like that tonight. I'm going to take a shower, calm down, and fall asleep.


	7. Can you watch the dogs?

_Can you do me a favor and go to my place and watch the dogs for a bit? Something came up with Chad._

_Yeah, of course. I need the keys though._

_I'll have him drop them off to you. Thanks._

_Anytime. You know I love them._

_I should be home at like 2am or so, but you don't have to wait that long. I know you see your dad tomorrow._

I open the door to Tyler's house and Grace pushes herself inside before I can even get it open fully. She's always so excited to go to Tyler's. Marshall and Cash come right over to me and Gerry starts chasing after Grace.

"Hey, boys," I say as I squat down to pet them. "Daddy will be home later. I bet you can't wait to see him. I know I can't."

I start walking to the door to the backyard and all four dogs follow me. I turn around and tell them all to sit. Miraculously they all do and I quickly snap a picture and send it to Tyler.

_Look at all of these good dogs._

_How did you even get them all to sit like that?_

_I'm the dog whisperer._

_Clearly. Thanks for sending me this. Missing all of you._

_We miss you too. In the backyard, it's beautiful out._

_Cold and rainy here. Have fun, about to take a nap before the game._

_Ok. talk to you later._

The dogs are all doing their own thing in the yard and it's too nice out to spend the day indoors. I look over to the putting green and decide to give it another go. I might as well practice while I have the time, and more importantly while no one's watching. Maybe I can impress Tyler with my new found skills when he gets back. Maybe I will do better without the pressure of him teasing me.

I pick up the putter that's leaning up against the house and place my ball down on the ground. The hole seems so far away. I should be good at this. It's almost like pool. It's a little frustrating. I hate when there's something I'm not good at.

I pull the putter back slightly and tap the ball. I don't hit it hard enough as it barely goes a few feet in front of me. I hang my head in shame. Why am I so bad at this? I can hear Tyler's voice in my head telling me I think too much about it. I'm too much in my head. He's probably right. I want it too much.

I walk over to my ball, pick it up, and put it back down to give it another shot. I hit the ball harder this time and Gerry starts running after it and stops it with his nose. "Gerry, no! That was actually a good shot!" He runs over to me and leans against my legs for pets. I pet him from his head to his tail. "You pain in the butt puppy, I'm trying to get good at this." He looks up at me with his goofy puppy smile, tongue hanging out of his mouth. "I love you, though." I bend down and kiss him on the head. "Now can you let me do this?"

I set up in front of the ball and tap it again. Gerry chases it down the green and it gets caught up in between his legs. "Grace, come get your man!" I call out. I'm never going to get better at putting if Gerry continues to chase after my balls. I walk over to where the ball stopped and pick it up. Gerry follows me back and watches me place the ball down on the ground. "Gerry, go play, and not with my ball." He doesn't move. He looks as if he's anticipating me hitting the ball. He thinks this is a game. Typical puppy.

I don't even try for the hole because I know he's just going to run after it so I hit the ball hard so he can run far. As soon as the ball leaves the putter Gerry chases after it, but sees Grace across the pool and starts running towards her instead. It looks like I can finally get some real tries in after all. I have to walk past the putting green to get to where the ball wound up. I look around the yard at the dogs. Marshall and Cash are set up in the sun on the patio and Gerry and Grace are playing in the grass. I love our pack.

I try so many times to get the ball remotely close to the hole and don't have much luck for the most part. I feel like I'm getting better, but then i have a set back. It feels like a lost cause and I almost give up and decide to take one more shot before moving on to something else. I set up in front of the ball, look towards the hole, look back down at the ball, and hit it. I watch as the ball rolls down the green and it looks like I've hit it too hard but when it gets to the hole it falls in. "YES!" I yell, throwing my arms up in the air in victory. "FINALLY!" I feel like I just won the Super Bowl.

I take my phone out and immediately text Tyler, hoping I don't wake him from his nap.

_I got a hole in one. Sorry if this wakes you but I'm excited._

_Bullshit, video or it didn't happen._

_I haven't taught the dogs to use a camera yet! I swear it happened._

_Uh huh_

_Oh my god, you're such a pain. It did. Marshall and Cash saw the whole thing._

_You'll have to show me when I get home._

_I doubt I can do it again._

_Or ever ;)_

_Ask your neighbors, I'm sure they heard me yelling._

_Oh great, another noise complaint._

_Ok, jerk, go back to your nap._

_Congratulations. I'm proud. Really._

_Thanks. Going to relax in the hot tub now._

_Send pics._

I laugh to myself at his last text and decide to leave him hanging as I go inside to change into my bikini. It's not warm enough to go swimming in the pool but it's just right for a dip in the hot tub. I wrap a towel around my shoulders before going back outside and I drape it over the back of a lounge chair, where I put my phone and sunglasses. I pick my phone up to take a selfie, trying to fit in as much of my body as I can, and I send it to Tyler.

_For good luck?_

_Looking good. Wish I were there._

_Me too._

_Getting ready to head out to the bus._

_He sends me a selfie. He has his slacks, shirt, and tie on already. His hair isn't styled yet so it looks soft and every strand has fallen just right._

_Sexy._

_That would be you. I'm gonna finish getting ready and let you relax._

_Ok talk to you later_

_Kisses_

I put my phone down on the lounge chair and lower myself into the hot tub. The hot water engulfs my body and I throw my head back as I relax, letting the sun warm my face. This is the definition of paradise. Gerry jumps onto one of the lounge chairs and settles down. Grace sits by my head. I think she wants to be in here with me. "Sorry, Gracie, it's too hot in here for you." I pet her head and kiss her on the nose.

Once I get out of the hot tub I bring all the dogs inside and give them food so they can all eat while I take a quick shower. After I get take a shower and get dressed I go to the media room to put on a movie before Tyler's game starts. I get snuggled up on the couch and wrap myself in one of the soft blankets he has draped over the back of the couch. It doesn't take long for the dogs to find me and join me.

Marshall lays on the floor in front of me. Cash jumps up on the couch and lays by my feet. Gerry and Grace jump up and Gerry winds up climbing all over me, trying to settle in. Grace objects to this and starts barking at him. "Shh, shh, Grace, it's ok." Gerry settles down and Grace tries to nudge him over. It looks like she's a bit jealous. I'm going to wind up sitting on the floor with Marshall if these two keep it up.

Gerry lies down next to me, between the back of the couch and my legs. Grace decides she's a puppy again and lies down on top of me, using my stomach as her chin pillow. I take a picture and send it to Tyler, knowing he's already at the arena and won't see it until after the game.

Looks like I'm not moving from this spot

The movie ends and none of the dogs have moved from their spot since we got onto the couch. I'm pretty sure my legs are asleep. I get up and let the dogs out so I can watch Tyler's game uninterrupted. I make myself some dinner before setting up in the living room with my food on the coffee table, dogs all around me, and Tyler's game on the TV. "Are you boys ready to watch daddy play?" I ask as I look around the room at the dogs. Grace snuggles up next to me just in time for puck drop.

Tyler has a really good game. He scores a few goals and has an assist, helping the Stars win. I know Tyler said I didn't have to wait until he got home but there's no way I'm leaving before seeing him. I'm trying my hardest to stay awake for when he gets home but my eyes are growing heavy. I let the dogs out before retiring back to the couch and falling asleep.

I wake up to the feeling of arms wrapping around me and a warm body pressing up against mine. I groan a bit as I reposition myself on the couch to give him more room to fit behind me. I settle back against him and he leans over and kisses my cheek.

"I wasn't expecting to see you when I got home. What a pleasant surprise," he says softly into my ear.

"I guess I fell asleep. I tried waiting up for you. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." He squeezes me tight. "I'm glad you stayed."

"Me too."

He rests his chin on my shoulder and I lean my head towards his. "You can stay here tonight if you want."

"I probably should. What time is it?"

"Three thirty."

"Yeah, I'll stay."

"Great, I'll give you something of mine to wear if you want, although you look pretty comfortable in this."

"I'm good in this. Thank you, though."

"Wanna head to bed?"

"Yeah, let's go."

I sit up and stretch my arms out to the side before standing up. Tyler stands up and hugs me. I rest my head on his chest and hug him back. It's so good to be in his arms again. He breathes a deep sigh. It seems he needs this as much as I do. He kisses the top of my head before letting go. I look up into his eyes and he smiles. He looks tired. It's been a long road trip, plus it's late.

His hair is messy and soft from being left to dry on the plane from his post game shower. A few wavy strands have fallen in his face. I move them to the side only for them to fall back where they were. He leans down and kisses me for what feels like an eternity, making up for the week and a half we've spent apart. Every time he kisses me it feels like electricity, this time is no different, it breathes new life into me.

He slowly pulls away from the kiss and looks around. All four dogs are sitting there watching us. "We have an audience," Tyler chuckles.

"Such creeps."

He takes my hand in his. "Time for bed." We walk through the house and upstairs to Tyler's room with a parade of dogs behind us. "The boys might join us."

"That's ok, I'm used to a lab in the bed."

"Yeah, but not three." Grace jumps up onto the bed. "Or four."

"She will jump down if you tell her to."

"No, it's ok." He takes his shirt off, followed by his pants. "I know we've seen each other naked and everything but I don't want to assume anything. I'm going to sleep in my boxer briefs if that's ok with you."

"It's very sweet of you to check but we are way passed that, don't you think?"

"I know." He blushes. "I just wanted to make sure."

"I'll put it this way, any time you want to have your clothes off in front of me is just fine."

"Ok, pervert," he teases.

"Don't have such a nice body if you don't want me to love it so much."

"I think I'll manage." He smiles. We get into bed and the rest of the dogs jump up and join us, making it impossible to get comfortable. Neither of us have any room at all. I cuddle up close to Tyler and rest my head on his chest. He is at the far edge of the bed, almost falling off. "This isn't going to work. I need it to be just us." He gently pushes on each of the dogs butts, asking them to jump down, and one by one they obey. We reposition ourselves in the middle of the bed. Tyler pulls me close. "Much better."

"I guess you're going to need a bigger bed."

"I don't think they make a bigger bed. They're going to have to learn to give us space when we need it."

"They missed you too."

"I know. And I missed them, you know that, but this is what I need right now. I usually come home from a long trip and only have the dogs to keep me company. This is perfect."

"It's a good thing I fell asleep then, not like I was going to leave anyway."

"It was nice to come home and see you there. I might have taken a picture."

"Oh god. How terrible do I look in it?"

"Not terrible at all." He shows me the picture. "Pretty adorable actually. Besides, this is just for me. It's not like I'll be posting it anywhere."

"Ok, good. I guess it is kinda cute. The dogs are cuter than I am."

"The whole thing is cute." He kisses me. "It was great to come home to. Thank you for staying."

"Grace, the boys, and I had a great time, but I am so happy you're home."

"Me too." He starts playing with my hair, stroking it, twirling the ends around his finger, running his fingers through it, and massaging my scalp. It's so relaxing. I love it. "That feels amazing."

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm." Now that I am snuggled and comfortable, I am rapidly growing more and more tired. I want to stay awake and spend as much time with him as I can. I am going to be spending the day with my dad tomorrow, technically today, so I won't be able to spend any real time with Tyler on his only day off of the week.

"Someone's getting sleepy."

"Yeah. I'm fighting it."

He moves from my hair and the back of my neck to rubbing my back in between my shoulder blades. "Stay up with me a little while longer."

"I'm trying. I want to."

He places a few sweet kisses on my temple. "How are the flowers?"

"They're great. I wish I could save them and plant them. They're so beautiful. You always seem to surprise me."

"I'm sorry I let you think you were in danger. It was shitty of me. I really didn't want to ruin the surprise, though. I waited all day to see the look on your face when you saw them."

"It's ok. Your heart was in the right place."

"I'm really trying to be a better guy."

"You don't have to try that hard. You are a great guy."

"I'm not that great."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I know you have some shit in your past but I don't care. This right here is all I care about."

"I don't even know how you can trust me."

"You've given me no reason not to. Unless you have and I don't know."

"I haven't. I promise."

"Ok then we're good."

He lifts my chin up and kisses me. He pulls away smiling and looking into my eyes. "I don't deserve you."

"You deserve happiness just as much as anyone else does."

He sighs. "Yeah." He picks his phone up and looks at the time. "We should get some sleep."

"Yeah. It's getting late. Goodnight." I run my fingers through his hair and kiss him slowly, partially because I'm tired and partially because I want to savor the moment.

"Mmm, good night indeed." He reaches over to the lamp on the bed side table and turns it off, leaving the only light in the room coming from the moonlight. I fall asleep with my head on his chest, knowing that I will reposition myself some time during the night.

I wake up in the morning to the feeling of dog paws kicking into my lower back. I roll onto my side to see Gerry sleeping. Tyler is on the other side of him, still sleeping, on his side facing me. He looks so peaceful and cute. I hear whimpers coming from Tyler's side of the bed and I peer over Tyler to see Marshall and Cash sitting patiently, waiting for Tyler to wake up and let them out. I get out of bed, grab my hoodie, and walk through the house to let them out into the backyard.

I collect Grace on the way outside. It looks like she settled in on the couch last night after getting kicked out of the bed. "Sorry about last night, baby girl, 4 labs are a lot of dog for one bed." She looks up at me and I pet her head. "I'm surprised you didn't take this opportunity to sleep next to Tyler." We get to the patio door and I open it. The dogs all saunter out into the yard, it's even too early for them.

I stand in the patio doorway and watch them wander around the yard. There's a chill in the air this morning and even though I'm wearing a hoodie, I'm still wearing shorts, the wind goes right through me. I get a shiver up my spine that makes my whole body tremble. I cross my arms over my chest like that will do anything at all. I feel hands on my arms. "Cold?" Tyler says into my ear as he rubs his hands up and down my arms to warm me up.

I look over my shoulder at him and smile. "It's chilly out here this morning."

He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder. "Such disappointment to wake up to an empty bed," he sleepily complains.

"Sorry, your dogs were crying at you. I was hoping to get back into bed before you woke up."

"I'm going back inside. It's freezing out here." He kisses my cheek and lets go of me. I turn around to watch him walk inside. He's still only wearing boxer briefs. He looks back at me over his shoulder and smiles when we make eye contact. "Busted."

"You looked back too."

"I know." He continues to walk away. "I'm going to make breakfast!" he shouts to me from the kitchen, he didn't close the door after him.

I wait outside with the dogs a little bit longer before they start to make their way back to the house. One by one they walk inside, Grace is last. She loves being outdoors, she'd live outside if she could. After I give the dogs food I go into the kitchen to see how Tyler's doing. He's at the stove scrambling up some eggs, still only in boxer briefs. "This is probably the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

He looks at me with an eyebrow raised. "Oh yeah?"

I take a moment to look him over. His hair is still a mess from sleeping, a perfect mess, soft and all over the place. He can barely open his sleepy eyes, not quite awake yet. His chiseled body looks exceptionally amazing standing in front of the stove, spatula in hand. I take my phone out of my pocket and take a picture of him. I can't help myself. I need to save this moment forever. "Definitely."

"Did you just take a picture of me?"

"Of course I did. I need to have this image for when you're away and I'm missing you."

"Won't that just make you miss me more?"

"It'll remind me how worth it it is."

"Is that the only reason? My body? I'm a person too, Amy!" He smiles. He can't even keep a straight face for 2 seconds. "Sit." He points with the spatula to a spot at the island where he has juice set up. "It's almost finished." I sit down and he walks over and pours eggs onto my plate and his. He sits down across from me. "Ketchup?" he asks as he holds the ketchup bottle up.

"No thanks."

He squirts ketchup on his eggs and I watch, horrified. I can't stand ketchup on eggs. "What?" He looks down at his ketchup covered eggs. "This? It's not that bad."

"No. Gross. How can you like that?"

"I just do," he says with a full mouth.

"Charming." He smirks and opens his mouth, revealing the rest of the eggs in his mouth, reminding me that he is a disgusting boy like the rest of them. "Nevermind what I said before, that is the sexiest thing I've ever seen." The sarcasm could probably slap him in the face.

He bursts out laughing, covering his mouth, keeping the eggs from flying out onto the island. "Don't make me laugh while I'm eating!"

"You started it." He looks at me, smiling. "What?"

"Nothing. Just enjoying this." He goes back to eating his eggs. His cheeks are a bit flushed. He looks as if he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. His dimples reveal a slight smile. He looks up at me. "Finish yours so we can cuddle before you have to go."

After we eat and clean up we go to the living room and sit on the couch. Tyler leans back, pulling me with him. I rest my head on his shoulder and snuggle up to him. The dogs gather around and lie down in various spots in the room. I'm a little warm in the hoodie I'm wearing but I don't want to move to take it off. I am comfortable right where I am. I wish I didn't have to leave. Spending the day in Tyler's arms sounds perfect. I can't bail on my dad, though.

The more time that ticks by, the more frequently I look at my phone for the time. I want to milk every possible second with Tyler before I have to leave. I sigh when I realize that it's time to get going. Tyler holds me tighter, I think he knows. "I have to get going," I reluctantly say as I start to sit up.

He pulls me back down. "No, I'm not ready."

"I have to. Believe me, I really hate that I have to go, but it's my dad."

He sighs. "I know." He lets go of me and I sit up once more. "It sucks, though, I actually have off today."

"It's the worst timing, that's for sure."

He sits up as well. "Yeah." He hugs me and kisses my cheek. I lean into him. "You should leave Grace here and come back after."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I have nothing going on today. She can hang out here with us."

"That sounds good. Thank you. It's better than her being at my house alone."

"Exactly."

The both of us stand up and I gather my things to get going. I walk over to Grace, who is cuddled up with Gerry. "Mommy's going to go see grandpa and you're going to stay here with Tyler, ok?" She wags her tail. I pet her head and kiss her nose. "Be good." I stand up and Tyler walks with me to the door. "It gets harder and harder to leave you, you know."

"You'll see me after." He hugs me. "But I get it. I'm the same way."

He leans down and kisses me. It's a nice, long kiss. I've missed the feeling of his lips on mine. I don't want to pull away, not just yet. I hold the back of his head and deepen the kiss. I need this feeling to last me all day. We finally break from the kiss, both of us smiling from ear to ear. "Especially when you kiss me like that," I say, breathless.

"Same." He opens the door for me to leave. "You better go before I change my mind in letting you."

"I'll text or call when I'm leaving my dad's. I can pick up dinner."

"Sounds good. Have fun."

"I will thanks."

We hug and kiss one more time before I have to force myself to leave. I still have to go back home to shower and change before going to my dad's. I didn't bring a change of clothes here when I probably should have. Tyler stands in the doorway and watches me as I walk to my car. Gerry joins him and sits down next to him. I wave goodbye before pulling away. He smiles and waves back. I'm sad to leave him but I find comfort in the fact that I will be back here tonight to spend a little bit more time with him.

I get a text from Tyler and read it while I'm at a red light.

_Miss you already_

_Same._


	8. Labrador Mafia

Today Tyler and I have a double date of sorts with Taylor and Stephen. We are all meeting up at the dog park. I'm bringing Grace, Tyler's bringing Gerry, and they will have Chief with them. It's a perfect day for the dog park. The sun is out but it's not too hot and there's a slight breeze. It's not nearly as humid as it had been. I always love when Grace makes new dog friends but I'm also looking forward to getting to know Taylor better, Stephen too. I'm still trying to get used to this lifestyle, dating a hockey player.

I drove with Grace to Tyler's house, where we are going to pack up the dogs into his G Wagen and go to the dog park from there. Grace stands beside me as we wait for Tyler to come to the door, her tail is wagging with anticipation. Tyler opens the door and Grace jumps up on him, something I am trying to get her to stop doing but I don't think there's any use. She loves him. Tyler knows that I don't like it so he makes sure she calms down before petting her. "You know you're not supposed to be jumping up on people," Tyler coos in his cute puppy voice while he scratches behind her ear. She looks up at him lovingly. He pats her butt a few times before changing his attention to me.

"You. It's only you she jumps up on," I say as we hug.

"Can you blame her?" He laughs.

"Oh right, you're such a stud."

"I am, aren't I?"

"Mmhm." I kiss him. "It's beautiful out today."

"Yeah, we picked a good one."

"Are Marshall and Cash upset we're leaving them behind?"

"Doubt it. They'd rather stay home." Tyler turns around and shouts into the house, "Come on, Gerry, let's go!" I can hear Gerry galloping through the house and he comes barreling through the doorway to join us. Tyler closes the door.

"Hey, puppy!" I squat down to pet him and he jumps in my lap, practically knocking me over. "Geez, Gerry." He gives me kisses all over my face. "I know, I know. I missed you too. Thank you for the kisses."

"Alright, alright, alright, enough. We should get going." Tyler pulls Gerry back and opens the back of the G Wagen for the dogs to jump in. Grace jumps in right away. Tyler has to encourage Gerry a bit more but he finally jumps in. We both get in and head on our way to the dog park.

We beat Stephen and Taylor to the dog park so we let the dogs free and sit down to wait for them. Gerry and Grace run off to play. Tyler puts his arm around my back and I scooch closer to him. He leans in to kiss me but the brim of his hat hits me in the forehead. "Smooth, Ty, real smoth," I tease.

"Sorry." He kisses my forehead. He takes his hat off and puts it backwards on my head. He looks down at my lips and smiles while slowly leaning in to kiss me. He pulls away with a smirk on his face. "Better?"

"Ok, that was really was smooth." Tyler takes the hat off of my head and puts it back on his.

"Look at Romeo over here." We look up to see Stephen and Taylor standing over us. Stephen chirping Tyler as usual. Tyler blushes and looks down before putting his hand on my knee and smiling at me. I smile back.

"Chief is lollygagging as usual," Taylor says as she points behind them. Chief is taking his sweet time walking over to us but finally makes it. "Chief, this is Amy and you know Tyler already."

Chief leans up against my legs and I pet him along his body. "It's so nice to meet you, Chief."

"Looks like the calvary is coming," Stephen says as Grace and Gerry make their way over to us.

Grace walks up to Chief and starts sniffing him. Gerry interrupts by walking in between them.

"Someone's jealous," I note.

"Gerry, let them meet each other," Tyler says as he pulls Gerry away by the collar.

Grace jumps on Chief, trying to get him to play but he doesn't budge. "You're not going to have much luck with that, Grace, Chief's a lazy bum," Taylor says.

Gerry joins in and he and Grace run off together. "Go play, Chief," Stephen commands. Chief saunters away. "Fifty bucks says he comes back here with a stick at some point."

"No one is taking that bet. We all know it's going to happen," Taylor says.

"Sometimes I wish Gerry was that mellow, but he's my little goofball," Tyler gushes.

"Not so little anymore. They grow way too fast," Taylor replies.

"Sometimes I miss puppy Grace, but she's way more behaved now," I say.

"She still acts like a puppy at least," Tyler adds.

"True." I look over to where the dogs are playing. "Chief has joined them. It looks like he's going to play after all." Gerry and Chief wrestle on the ground.

"Atta boy, Gerry, get him!" Tyler cheers.

Taylor laughs as we watch Grace walk away from both of them. "Grace seems less than impressed."

"We joke that Gerry is her boyfriend but she really loves Tyler."

"She loves Gerry too," Tyler chimes in.

Stephen stands up and walks over to where they are and throws a ball. We are the only ones here for now so he doesn't have to worry about another dog getting the ball. Gerry gets to the ball and proudly trots back to Stephen with it in his mouth.

"Good, I hope he wears him out," Tyler says.

"I just hope they stay out of the water today." Stephen picks up a stick and throws it into the water. Chief jumps in and swims after it. "Excuse me while I go kill him." Taylor stands up and starts walking towards Stephen and yelling, "I told you I didn't want him wet today!"

Tyler laughs and looks at me. "That is where we first met, right over there." He points to the spot.

"Yeah. It's hard to believe that was only two months ago. It feels like I've known you longer."

"It feels like that for me too. That's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah, I think it's a good thing."

"Me too." Gerry walks over to us. "And it's all because of this guy right here," Tyler says as he rubs Gerry's back.

"I brought water for them." I dig into my duffel bag and take out a bowl and bottle of water. I pour some water out for the dogs and place the bowl down. Gerry immediately goes to the bowl and starts drinking.

Stephen walks back over to us and sits down on the other side of Tyler. "She's acting like he won't be dry by the time we leave," Stephen complains. We all look out to where Taylor is. It looks like she's giving Chief a talking to now.

Tyler leans in and whispers in my ear, "you should go over there."

"Hm?" I ask, a little confused.

"You want to become friends with her. Now's your chance to get one on one time."

"You make it sound like this is kindergarten and I have to make new friends."

"Well..." I glare at him. He smiles. "Go on."

I stand up and walk over to where Taylor and Chief are. Grace joins us once I get there. "I'm surprised she hasn't jumped in there yet. Grace loves the water."

"That's because Tyler knows better than to entice her," she replies bitterly. "What's going on between you guys anyway?"

"It's no secret he's not looking for anything serious."

"True, but it's different with you."

"It is?"

"Yeah. I've seen how he's been with the others. There's something there between you two."

"I've kinda just been living in the moment and not worrying about where it's going, but I do admit I like him an awful lot."

"He likes you too. I can tell by the way he looks at you."

"I hope so. I really like what we have. I'm just not getting my hopes up for something that may never happen."

"Do you want more, though?"

"Maybe one day. I'm happy with the way things are now. I wouldn't want to screw that up."

"Obviously I don't know what's in his head for sure, but I really don't think you'll have that problem. I'm telling you that from what I can see it's different with you."

"My friends think I'm crazy, that at my age I should be looking for someone who wants to settle down. I'm honestly in no rush."

"Everyone does things at their own pace. As long as you're happy, that's what's most important."

"I am so happy. I'm still trying to get used to him being away so often but it's worth it."

"Yeah, it's tough when they're away but you find ways to cope. Getting Chief has really made a difference for me, and I've been pretty busy with work. The time flies sometimes."

"You have to see the flowers he sent me."

"Yeah I do. Why wasn't this the first thing we talked about?" I take my phone out and open up a picture of the flowers. "Oh my god, they're gorgeous. Tyler sent those to you?"

 

"He did. And he make sure to be on FaceTime with me when they were delivered so he could see my face when I saw them." I blush just thinking about how sweet that was

"See? I told you it's different with you. Do you think he did that kind of stuff with the others?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

"I'm telling you he didn't. You're different. You're special."

"It's hard to tell sometimes. He doesn't really talk about his feelings. I don't wanna push it either."

"He tells you the best way he knows how. I'm sure the words will come." She glances over my shoulder in the direction of the boys then looks back at me. "Besides, he hasn't taken his eyes off of you the whole time you've been over here."

I look over my shoulder at him and he waves. "I guess we should go back over there."

"Yeah, you know they can't go too long without us." She laughs.

We walk over to where the guys are sitting and sit down next to them. Tyler hits his knee into my knee playfully. I hit mine into his. We both smile at each other. The dogs settle down in front of us on the ground. I guess they've had enough for now. I put water down for them to drink from if they want it.

"We should have brought Marshall and Cash. We already look ridiculous with our labrador mafia over here," I say.

Tyler laughs. "You know the old farts would rather be at home."

"It would have been some picture to have all five of them lined up," I say.

"Oh yes! You should go back home real quick and get them," Taylor suggests.

"Or you could come over after this and we could order food."

Taylor and Stephen look at each other and nod. "Yeah, we could do that."

"Awesome."

"Chief is going to have to dry off first," Taylor bitterly says as she glares at Stephen.

"It's a warm enough day. It won't take long," Stephen replies.

The dogs relax for a little bit longer before getting back up and running around again. The four of us exchange stories about our dogs, especially from when they were young puppies. It's funny that we all have the same breed and yet each is different.

I am having such a good time with Tyler, Stephen, and Taylor. They're easy to talk to and really down to earth. I think I'm going to be able to fit in better than I thought. Taylor treats me like we've known each other for years. It's relieving to be able to talk to someone on the outside looking in that knows Tyler from before I met him. She knows how he used to be and can be objective.

Once the dogs come back to us and signal that they've had enough we pack up in our respective cars and head to Tyler's house.

"So you guys were talking about me out there. All good things, I hope," Tyler says as we get on our way.

"What makes you think we were talking about you?" I'm trying to sound as innocent as I can.

"First of all you're girls. That's what girls do, gossip. Remember, I have two sisters, I know these things. Plus, the two of you are not subtle, especially Taylor, she kept looking over at me."

"Maybe she was looking at Stephen."

"She wasn't." He stops at a red light and looks me dead in the eyes. "Right?"

"No she wasn't."

"That wasn't so hard to admit, was it? Why the big secret? Unless it was bad things."

"No, of course it wasn't bad things. All good things, I promise."

"Then why the secrecy?"

"I'm 34 years old, I shouldn't be gossiping."

"There isn't an age limit on it. It's ok, you know, I was talking about you too."

"You were?"

"Yup."

"Good things?"

"Great things." He puts his hand on the back of my neck and massages it a few times before the light changes and he goes back to driving.

We get to the house before Stephen and Taylor so we go inside and let Marshall and Cash out into the backyard. I put food down, enough for all of the dogs, and go to the front to wait for Stephen and Taylor so I can let them in.

We all gather in the backyard. Stephen and Tyler go straight to the putting green. I am staying far away from that thing. Taylor and I lounge by the pool, wishing it was warm enough to go in. Grace jumps onto the chair with me and I spread my legs so she can fit in between them. I think she's getting overwhelmed and misses hanging out with only me. At the end of the day she's a big momma's girl.

"Grace is tired of socializing and just wants her mommy," I say as I pet her head.

"Chief gets like that too."

We look over to the boys at the putting green. I mean all of the boys. Human boys and dog boys. Marshall and Cash are hanging out in the sand trap and Gerry is chasing after the golf ball, something I am all too familiar with. Taylor and I laugh at Tyler and Stephen scolding Gerry, trying to get him to stop messing with their game. Chief is watching from afar and soon gets up and makes his way over to where we are sitting. It looks like he's had enough socializing too. He plops down next to Taylor's chair, and I swear he sighs.

Before going inside we decided to try to get a picture of all of the dogs like we had talked about at the dog park. Lining up five labs and getting them all to sit still is just as hard as it sounds. It took so many treats, distractions, and silly puppy noises but we finally got them all to cooperate and take the picture. It was so worth the frustration. The picture came out amazing. Grace was in the middle, surrounded by all of her favorite boys. All of us could not post it on social media fast enough.

After we eat dinner we all settle into the living room to watch a movie before Stephen and Taylor go home. I sit down on the couch. Gerry jumps up, lays down next to me, and rests his chin on my thigh. "Hey, baby," I coo as I pet his head.

"He's always trying to steal my girl," Tyler complains as he sits down on the other side of me. He wraps his arm around my back and kisses the side of my head. He looks around me at Gerry. "Grace is your girl. Stop being greedy."

Taylor and I exchange smiles. He's so cute when he gets like this. He's always telling Gerry to back off of "his girl". It always makes me extra happy to hear those words from him.

"Chief may have to slide in there if Gerry is no longer interested," Stephen says.

"You hear that? Chief is going to take your girl. You're not going to let that happen, are you?" Tyler says to Gerry.

Grace walks into the room and settles down by Taylor's feet. "You're all wrong. She's mine. She chose me," Taylor jokes.

"These dogs have no loyalty, I swear," I say, joking of course.

"Chief does, don't you, boy?" Stephen replies as he pats Chief on the head.

Tyler starts the movie and I snuggle up closer to him to get more comfortable. He kisses my temple and his lips linger there for a few beats before he ends up leaning his head against mine. His hand moves from around my shoulders and holding onto my arm to around my back with his hand on my waist. He subtlety slips his fingers under my shirt and traces circles on my skin with his fingertips. 5e feeling of his skin on mine sends electricity up my spine and I can't stifle my smile.

"So bad," I mutter under my breath so they can't hear me.

"What?" he innocently whispers in my ear, which sends another wave of electricity through my body.

"You know what," I say, continuing my hushed tone. Taylor and Stephen continue to stay focused on the movie, unaware of what's going on on our side of the room.

He leans in closer to me, his lips right up against my ear. "They have no clue." I grab onto his wrist as if I'm going to stop him. My heart is now racing and I'm craving more of his touch. "Leave it there," he demands, "I promise I'll be good." I remove my hand from his wrist. I probably wasn't going to move it anyway.

I take a deep breath. "You're driving me crazy on purpose, you jerk." It's getting harder and harder to keep my voice as low as I need it to be so they don't hear me. His lips are still pressed up against my ear, giving me goosebumps.

"You love it." He removes his lips from my ear, quickly nipping at my neck before resuming leaning his head against mine. At this point I want to kick them out and mount him, but I contain my composure and go back to watching the movie despite the fact his hand is still touching my skin and my heart rate has not slowed back down.

I place my hand on his thigh, right in the middle, not too low but not too high. He flinches, not expecting the sensation to flow through him. "Two can play this game, you know."

"Maybe we shouldn't." His words say no, but his actions sing a different song.

"You don't mean that." I slowly move my hand further up his thigh.

He buries his face into my neck. "Don't."

"You can dish it out, but can't take it."

"It's not that." I move my hand to his inner thigh and he sucks in a breath. "They're going to catch us." He starts moving his hand up my body, still under my shirt.

"Where are you going with that?"

"Your bra."

"You need to be more subtle than that, my dear." I make sure to keep an eye on Stephen and Taylor to make sure they don't look over at us.

"Kick them out," he quietly whimpers.

"They're leaving after the movie. Control yourself." I take my time running my hand back down his thigh before moving it from his body all together. They could look over at us at any moment and both of us were getting very close to taking it too far.

He takes his hand out from under my shirt and places it back around my waist. "It's on as soon as they leave." I smile as I lean closer into him. He wraps his other arm around me, hugging me. We settle into a comfortable position that we stay with in for the rest of the movie.

After the movie finishes Taylor and Stephen stand up to get ready to leave. It's been such a great day with them. I hope we can do things like this more often. Taylor and I exchange phone numbers so I can talk to her any time I need to. She's such a nice person. Today really put me at ease about where this is going with Tyler.

We all laugh as Stephen has to practically push Chief to the door. The day has caught up with all of the dogs and they're all sleeping. Chief doesn't want to move. Stephen threatens to pick him up and carry him, which I'm sure Chief wouldn't mind at all. Finally he slowly gets up and moseys to the door to leave.

"Thank you so much for having us, Tyler," Taylor says as she slings her purse strap over her shoulder. She turns to me. "Text me. We'll talk."

"Will do," I say.

We all finish our goodbyes and Tyler walks with them outside to close the gate after they leave. I stay put to wait for him. I look into the living room where the dogs are sleeping. They look so peaceful. Grace has curled up where Marshall is sleeping. He doesn't seem to mind that she's in his personal space.

Tyler comes up behind me, holds onto my hips, and starts kissing my neck. I lean my head back onto him. He kisses up my neck to my ear. "I think we were about here." He places little kisses around my ear. I slowly move my hips from side to side and he tightens his grasp on my hips.

"I'm surprised you were able to hold it together."

"Me? What about you. We both know you're not quiet."

"Impressive, eh?"

He slips both hands under my shirt and runs them up my body and cups my breasts. "Very." He goes back to kissing my neck and I melt under his touch. I reach up and run my fingers through his hair. He starts to rub his growing erection on my ass. "The dogs are sleeping, we should move this to the bedroom before they wake up." He gives my ass a playful smack.

"I'll race you." I take off before he can respond. I giggle the whole way through the house. I can hear his footsteps behind me. I go a bit faster.

"You're not going to beat me!" he calls out after me. We both stampede down the hallway to the bedroom. He catches up to me and spins me around. "I'd call that a tie." He picks me up and lays me down on the bed before crawling onto me and continuing to kiss my neck. "I hope you didn't plan on sleeping tonight."


	9. The boy is claiming you

Tonight is the night my friends are going to be going to their first hockey game. Faith and Rose are coming, along with their significant others. My friend Hannah who hasn't met Tyler yet is also going, along with her boyfriend. It should be a good time. I'm looking forward to them seeing what he does for a living and how great he is at it. Tyler was extra nice and got us all a suite to enjoy the game from so we could all be together comfortably. I think part of him also wanted to show off. I don't have a problem with that.

Faith and Rose can't wait to see Tyler again and Hannah is looking forward to getting to meet him for the first time and get to know him better. She's been pretty skeptical about us because we aren't putting a label on what we are yet. The other two have their concerns but they've toned it down a bit since meeting him. I'm a little nervous about what Hannah is going to think but I know I shouldn't be. Tyler's a great guy. Their opinions do mean a lot to me, though. They're like my sisters and we look out for each other. My last relationship wasn't the best so they're extra cautious. This is the first time I've really been interested in anyone since that break up.

I have to pick up the tickets at the box office so they're all going to be meeting me there and we will go in together from there. I'm taking an Uber to the game because Tyler already asked me to stay over his place tonight and it's easier to have one car instead of two. Hannah has agreed to go back to my place to take care of Grace for me. My friends really are the best.

As I finish up getting ready, I get a text from Tyler.

_Go to The Hangar before the game and pick up something I have waiting for you._

_What is it?_

_It's a surprise. You'll find out when you get there._

_Ok. Can't wait to see you tonight._

_Same. Gonna bring the posse down for warm ups?_

_Yeah._

_Trying to show me off?_

_Of course._

_I'll try to be extra impressive tonight._

_Just be yourself. You're amazing no matter what._

_Aww. Thank you. Gotta get going. Enjoy the suite. See you after._

After I get ready I sit down on the couch to spend some time with Grace before I leave. She hates when I'm away, especially when it's overnight. It messes with her routine. She quickly gets over it, though, once I get home. I only get a little bit of a guilt trip from her. She can never give me the cold shoulder for too long. She loves me too much.

I pick up the tickets and family passes from the box office and wait for my friends to meet me, which doesn't take too long. I distribute the tickets out to everyone and we go out to grab a quick bite to eat.

Once we get into the arena the girls and I split from the guys. They want to go to the suite right away and I have to go to The Hangar to pick up what Tyler left me, then we are going to go down by the glass for warm ups.

The four of us walk into The Hangar and I go to the counter and give them my name. The associate turns around to get whatever it is and is holding a green Stars jersey with number 91 and the name Seguin on the back. I smile. He wants me to wear his jersey. He hands me the jersey, I thank him, and we quickly leave to make sure we are in the front row for warm ups.

"That is so sweet," Hannah gushes.

"The boy is claiming you," Faith states as we weave our way through the crowd.

"Look around, more than half of the people here have the same jersey," I say, brushing it off.

"Yeah, ok, but how many of those jerseys were given to them by him? I'm assuming zero."

"True." We turn into the entrance to the section we are going to sit in for warm ups, the section that I've become very familiar with. I explain a little bit to them what they can expect from warm ups but nothing can prepare you for the real thing. I can't wait for them to experience it. I introduce them to Robin and Andrew, who I met opening night, and who I've been sitting with every game I've gone to.

"Put the jersey on already," Rose impatiently demands.

"You finally broke down and bought his jersey. You're one of us now," Robin says.

"He left it for me," I say in a hushed tone. By this time Robin and Andrew know that Tyler and I are dating, but it's not common knowledge and I don't want anyone else to hear.

"That's a sign if I ever saw one," Robin says, knowing I don't exactly know where I stand with him when it comes to exclusivity and what exactly it is that we are.

"That's what we've been telling her," Faith says.

I rip the tags off of the end of the sleeve and put the jersey on. "How do I look?"

"Like the luckiest girl in the damn arena," Faith says as she takes her phone out. "Say cheese."

I roll my eyes. "Nobody says cheese anymore."

"Then smile, dammit." I pose and smile for the picture. "Now turn around. Gotta get the back."

"Are you this bossy when you're taking pictures of Jade?"

"First of all, I'm not bossy. Second of all, even more so. Third of all, you know that girl is a diva and loves the camera."

"Diva just like her mother," Rose teases. Faith shoots her a glare which makes us all laugh. Nothing could be more true. Jade is her mother's daughter for sure.

"Why don't y'all get together and I'll take a picture of all of you," Robin suggests.

"Yes! Great idea. Thank you!" Hannah exclaims as she hands her phone to Robin.

They all gather around me and Robin takes our picture. We all take our seats and Hannah texts us the picture. Faith texts me the picture of me in the jersey and I send them to Tyler. I know he won't see them until after the game, but I'm sure he will want to have them.

We keep ourselves occupied for the rest of the time we have to wait for the guys to come out. The music starts up and everyone stands, we do as well. My friends' faces are glued to the ice. I can't wait to see their reactions when everything starts up. I think they're really going to have a great time.

Faith turns to me and asks, "where's Tyler?"

"He's always second to last. He's coming." Tyler emerges in the tunnel, waiting his turn to car out onto the ice. "There he is." I point him out.

"Oh god, Amy," she says in disbelief. He really does look great in uniform.

"He really is real," Hannah says as we all follow him with our eyes, "and even more good looking in person. You go, Amy."

"Please don't embarrass me tonight," I beg.

"You know we can't make any promises," Rose replies.

"How much more embarrassing do you think we can be?" Faith asks.

"I really don't want to find out," I say as we watch Tyler drop down to the ice to begin stretching.

"Holy shit. Who knew hockey was like porn?" Faith says. Tyler starts looking around the crowd, spots us, and smiles. "Look at that smile."

"I think I just got pregnant," Hannah says.

"Guys, come on, this is Amy's boyfriend we are talking about. We should be a little respectful." Rose, the voice a reason, a new role for her.

"First of all, not technically my boyfriend. Second, it's ok. Everyone does it. I've heard worse." I really don't mind if people ogle him. He's a very attractive man. It would be hard not to.

After he takes some shots on goal he skates along the boards and stops in front of us for a bit. He turns and looks at me and I smile. This is our usual warm ups thing. He points to the jersey I'm wearing and starts fanning himself as he holds the other hand over his heart. "Hot," he says, and gives me a thumbs up before skating away.

"He's got it bad," Faith says.

"It's so cute," Hannah adds.

We continue to watch Tyler warm up. Faith gets a text and takes her phone out and checks to see who it is. BAM! A puck slams into the glass. She jumps from being startled. Tyler laughs as he's the one who hit the puck at her. "You better pay attention to him," I say, "he doesn't like when people don't pay attention."

"Such an attention whore," Faith mutters as he stuffs her phone back into her pocket.

The next time Tyler comes around by us he turns to face us, grabs the bottom of his jersey, and pulls it up to his face to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He doesn't wear a shirt under his pads so on full display is his perfectly sculpted abs. He gives me a smoldering look over the jersey. His eyes crinkle, telling me he's smiling behind that jersey. I can hear a collective gasp followed by expletives coming out of my friends next to me. He drops the jersey with a smirk and swiftly skates off with the puck.

"Holy fuck," Faith says, still with her jaw dropped.

"I know."

"Those abs," Rose says.

"I know." Boy, do I know.

"How is he real?" Hannah says.

"I don't know, but he is and I really like him," I say as we watch him pass the puck around with some of his teammates.

"Well no shit, look at him."

"No, it's way beyond looks." Sure, anyone can like him for his looks but it's not even about that. He's funny, sweet, driven, passionate, everything in a man someone would want.

"She's in love but in total denial," Robin chimes in.

"Oh, we know."

Warm ups wind down and we watch Tyler shoot his one timers, something that has quickly become one of my favorite things about warm ups. He picks up a few pucks from the ice and throws them into the crowd, as he always does. He leans on the bench and waits for the last player from the other team to leave the ice. He always has to be last off.

When we get to the suite there are already a few empty beer bottles on the counter. The guys couldn't even wait for us before they started drinking. We walk around the suite, admiring it. None of us have ever been in a suite before.

"This is amazing, Amy, I'm going to have to thank Tyler for this. I don't even remember the last time Scott and I have been out together without Jade in tow," Faith says as she scoops some food onto a plate. We start to claim seats for the start of the game.

"He's been looking forward to everyone coming out to see him play. He wants to impress you."

"Color me impressed," Faith says as she takes a beer from Scott, her husband.

"You haven't even seen him play yet," I say as I grab a beer for myself.

"I'm pretty satisfied."

"My wife has the hots for your boy," Scott says, "it's ok, though, I'm not threatened." She leans in and kisses him. I have known Faith and Scott almost my whole life. We have been friends since I could remember. They started dating in high school and have been together ever since. They have the kind of love people dream about but don't think actually exists. It exists. They have it. I've always been envious of them. They're a great team and amazing parents. I'm lucky to call them my friends.

"You guys are gross," I tease.

"Says the girl who almost had sex on a pool table in Mudders," Faith retorts.

"Oh come on, Amy, Mudders is sacred," Scott piles on.

"Speaking of sex, tell me you've done the deed with Tyler," Rose says.

"No, please don't tell us," Brian, Rose's boyfriend of 3 years, pleads.

"Not yet," I mumble.

"What the hell are you waiting for? How is that even possible? Are you on drugs?" Faith questions.

"We're taking it slow. Anyway, it's not like we haven't done other things. We've been enjoying keeping it interesting without the sex," I explain as the guys in our group shake their heads, wishing they were anywhere but here listening to our girl talk. They're used to it, though, we don't hold back around them.

"Taking it slow? Tyler Seguin? Are you sure?" Tim, Hannah's boyfriend asks. She smacks him on the arm. "Ow! What? I'm just saying he has a reputation. You are aware of that, right?"

"I know his reputation," I say dryly.

"And you're ok with it?"

"The past is in the past. I'm not going to hold it against him."

"Just be careful, alright? I don't want you getting hurt." Tim and I have been close friends for years. He's like a brother to me. I appreciate him wanting to look out for me, but he doesn't know Tyler like I do. I don't think many do. He's more of a casual Stars fan, he watches on TV but has never been to a game. The rest of the group knows nothing of hockey. They're like how I was, all about football.

"Listen, I know he's not looking for anything serious and I'm ok with that."

"But is he also going out with other girls?

"No. Probably not. I don't think so."

"You don't know for sure?"

"No, I guess not."

"You need to find out. Maybe he isn't looking for the same thing you are after all."

"I really don't think that's the case, Tim."

"Don't you want to know for sure? You deserve at least that much."

"Guys, this is supposed to be a fun night," Rose interjects.

"Don't you want to make sure she's making the right decision? You guys are supposed to be her girl friends and looking out for her. Are you too blinded by his good looks and muscles that you ignore the fact he may hurt her?"

"And his tattoos," Faith adds.

"I'm fucking serious," Tim snaps.

"Guys, come on," I say, trying to get this conversation to stop.

Hannah rubs Tims back, trying to get him to calm down. "Maybe this isn't the place for this."

"Amy's a big girl. She knows what she's doing. If we thought she was making a bad decision we'd let her know," Faith says, "When you see them together you'll see that you're overreacting. Tone it down, Timmy."

He rolls his eyes. "I hate when you call me Timmy. You know that." Faith smiles wide. He shakes his head while fighting a smile. "Fine, I'll drop it, for now."

"Yes, please, let's have a good night," I say. The pre-game introduction video starts as the Star is lowered from the ceiling. "It's starting."

The players start to skate out and we settle into our seats for the game. We all cheer loudly for Tyler when his name is announced in the starting roster. This is the first time I am watching a game from anywhere but the lower bowl. I love that I can see the whole rink from here. I love that my friends are here to experience this with me. Hockey has quickly become a big part of my life thanks to Tyler. I hope they grow to love is as I have.

Tyler scores two quick goals in the first period, which makes me go absolutely crazy. I stand at the edge of the suite cheering my head off for him. "That's my man!" I yell for all to hear.

The first period winds down and the Stars already have a commanding lead thanks to a 4 goal period, including two from Tyler. Everyone stands up to get refills on food and drinks. I feel a hand on my back and I turn to my left to see Tim standing there. "Can I talk to you in the hallway real quick?" he asks. I nod my head yes and we step out into the hallway and walk off to the side and out of people's way. "I don't want you to think I have anything against Tyler or that I was trying to attack him. I just want what's best for you."

"I know you're looking out for me, but it's ok."

"I saw how broken you were after David. I don't want to ever see you like that again. This guy...I just don't know."

"He's different with me."

"I want to believe that, but it's difficult. I also think you're putting a wall up so you don't get too attached, so you won't get hurt again like last time. That never works. It always winds up falling."

"I'm honestly not thinking too much into it. I'm doing what makes me happy and this makes me happy. Tyler makes me happy. You can't believe everything you read on the internet. He's a great guy."

"Ok. It's hard not to want to protect you. You're like family and when you hurt, so do I."

"You're an amazing friend. You don't have to stop wanting to protect me, just trust that I know what I'm doing."

"I can do that, but if he hurts you I'm kicking his ass."

"If he hurts me, I'll join you."

He smiles. "Ok, let's get back in there. I need more of those wings."

We get back into the suite and fill our plates with food. I'm glad he and I had that talk. I think he will be able to relax and enjoy the game a big more than he was before. I know that once he meets Tyler he will have a different opinion about him. I look around and can't help thinking that I have the best friends that anyone could ever ask for. We all have been so close for so long.

"Brian, you know you have to throw your hat on the ice if Tyler scores one more, right?" Tim asks.

"No way, it won't even reach," Brian says as he holds his hat down on his head.

"Someone down there will make sure it gets to the ice," Tim says.

"I am not throwing my hat," Brian sternly says.

"Do you think it'll happen?" I ask. I haven't seen a hat trick yet. I just recently learned what one is. I'm still getting used to all of the rules and terms of the game.

"There's still a lot of time left. I wouldn't be surprised if it does. You never know, though," Tim explains.

The second period is pretty uneventful for the Stars. The other team scores a goal, but that doesn't put a dent in the Stars lead. They are playing well and the arena is buzzing. Tyler has been getting plenty of scoring opportunities. One of those shots just has to go in. The guys seem to be passing to him more often, trying to get him the hat trick.

"So, Amy, have you told Charles about Tyler yet?" Scott asks as we settle back down after getting some more drinks during intermission. Charles is my dad.

"No, but I'll probably tell him soon."

"Are you a little worried about what he's going to think?"

"It's my dad, you know how he is. I could be dating a literal angel and he'd find a way to disapprove."

"Yes. True. But, this situation is different than what's usual for you."

"Obviously what I've been doing hasn't worked well for me. My dad will be skeptical at first but in the end he wants me to be happy. Plus, Tyler's an athlete, that's gotta be bonus points." Tim chuckles. I glare at him. "What?"

"You have no idea. Chuck knows how athletes are and he was an athlete himself. That's not going to help Tyler's cause."

"Don't talk her out of telling him. He's going to have to find out eventually," Faith says.

"You know he hasn't gotten over the whole David thing," Scott says.

"I've heard that name way too much tonight. Let's just drop it. I'll tell my dad when I'm ready and he's just going to have to deal with it," I say, annoyed and not wanting another argument to occur because of my life choices.

"I think Charles will be cautious about Tyler at first, but Tyler's got that charisma that you can't help be drawn to," Rose adds, "Plus, you can't ignore the chemistry between you two. You can tell there's something special there even if you idiots are too stubborn to see it."

"Hey! We aren't idiots." Faith, Rose, and Hannah all exchange glances, nod yes in agreement, then laugh. "I hate you guys," I pout.

"You love us and you know it," Faith says.

"I do. I do," I concede.

The third period starts and I'm at the edge of my seat every time Tyler's out on the ice. I think everyone in the arena is. We are all willing in our heads for the hat trick to happen. Tyler gets a few good shots on goal, but nothing goes in. There's a collective "oh!" that comes from the crowd every time he shoots.

The game starts to wind down and it's starting to look like Tyler is going to be stuck on 2 goals despite how hard he's trying to get that last goal. With only a few minutes left in the game the Stars go on the power play. Tim, who is sitting behind me, puts his hands on my shoulders and leans over the seat to talk into my ear. The place is so loud. "This is it. He's gonna do it. I can feel it." Everyone gets up on their feet, so do we.

Tyler first sets up in front of the goalie to see if he can get a deflection or rebound but he has no luck there. His next shift out he sets up on the left circle, his sweet spot. He gets a few quick shots on goal but both are stopped. With just seconds to go in the power play he gets himself open and taps his stick on the ice a few times, calling for the puck. They pass the puck around a bit, the power play ends, Jamie gets the puck to Tyler and he shoots it into the short side high corner of the net. The puck sneaks passed the goalie's shoulder and the goal horn goes off.

"He did it! Holy shit, he did it!" I scream, although I can't even hear myself because of how loud the arena is right now. Tyler looks around and points in our direction before he is smothered by hugs from his teammates. I blow him kisses but I doubt he can see me.

Faith nudges me with her elbow. "See that? That was for you."

I lean towards her so she can hear me. "That was the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

She smiles. "Get some tonight." I nod my head in agreement. There's no doubt in my mind that I will.

People are going nuts, high fiving each other, cheering for Tyler. It's the most incredible feeling I've been apart of at a sporting event. The hats start flying towards the ice and me and my friends are exchanging our own high fives and hugs.

After the hats are cleared from the ice there's a little over a minute left in the game but the crowd doesn't settle down once the game starts back up again. Everyone stays on their feet and continues to cheer until the game ends. "STARS WIN!!" echoes through the arena as the guys skate to center ice to salute the crowd.

We stay to hear the stars of the game be announced and sure enough they named Tyler first star of the game. We cheer loudly for him for the last time of the night. I doubt I will have a voice tomorrow, but I don't care. I couldn't be more proud of him. I can't wait to get down there and hug him.

Once we get down to the locker room area we wait in my usual spot for Tyler to come out. Taylor spots me and walks over to us. "Oh thank god you're here. I didn't think you were. It would have been a shame to miss his hat trick."

"He got us a suite because a bunch of my friends came tonight." I introduce everyone to Taylor.

"You guys came on a good night," Taylor says. She notices my jersey. "Look at you sporting his jersey."

I blush. "Yeah, he left it for me."

"Well that's cute." She spots a few of the wives. "I'm going to go say hi. It was nice meeting you guys." She walks off.

I look over to where Tom Holy has Seguin's Stars lined up against the wall. "Wait until you see him with the kids. It's so cute."

The doors to the locker room open and Tyler walks out. He gives us a smile and a wave before walking over to see the kids. My heart's in my throat as Tyler looks exceptionally good in his pinstripe suit, a suit I haven't seen before. I don't know what it is about pinstripes that makes me weak in the knees, but I love a man in pinstripes. This is Tyler so the sexiness is multiplied by infinity. Not only is the suit pinstripes, but it's tailored to perfectly fit his body. A sigh slips out of my mouth as he makes his way across the hallway.

"Wow, Amy, he looks...wow," Faith says as all of us watch him talk to the kids.

"You know how I feel about pinstripes," I reply.

"Oh yeah, I'm surprised you still have your clothes on," she teases.

"Ok, I'll admit the guy looks good," Scott says.

"Don't go trying to steal Amy's man," Faith says as she wraps her arm around Scott's back.

"If she doesn't lock it down soon I just might." He shakes his head at himself and laughs.

"Look how cute he is with that little one!" Hannah gushes as we watch Tyler squat down to one of the kids' levels to hear him better.

"He loves talking to the kids afterwards. He wants to make sure they all had a good time and see if some would want to try playing hockey," I explain.

He does his usual autograph signing then takes a group picture with the kids as well as individual pictures for anyone who wants one. He talks with Tom for a moment before Tom walks with the group out of the hallway.

Tyler turns to us and has a big smile on his face as he walks towards me. "That jersey has never looked so good."

"I don't know about that, you wear it pretty well."

"I love seeing it on you." He hugs me and whispers in my ear, "it's so sexy."

I smile. "Thanks." He leans down to give me a quick kiss but I need more than that. I hold onto the back of his head and hold him in place while I kiss him like I've never kissed him before. He looks stunned after we pull apart, but I want more. "I love that suit, by the way."

He looks down at himself. "Yeah? I'm glad. It's new." A few cleared throats could be heard by the peanut gallery and Tyler's attention turns to my friends. "Hey guys, it's good to see you again. And I see you've added to your posse. Who is this?" He asks as he looks at Hannah.

"Hi, I'm Hannah," she bashfully says. She's definitely the most shy out of all of us.

"It's nice to meet you, Hannah."

The guys all introduce themselves to Tyler and he shakes all of their hands and jokes about how they're saints to be able to put up with their significant others for so long.

"You clean up nice, Tyler," Faith says, still admiring the suit. I don't blame her. He looks amazing in it.

"Why thank you. I try," he replies.

"Pinstripes are one of Amy's weaknesses. I don't know if you knew that," Rose states.

He looks at me with his eyebrows raised. "I did not. Good to know." He pulls my head towards him and kisses my cheek. His arm slips around me and I lean into him. "You'll have to tell me some of her other weaknesses."

I playfully slap his chest. "No she doesn't!"

He giggles then looks at me and scrunches his nose adorably before returning his attention back to them. "Well, I'm glad we could get in win for you guys tonight."

"We are so happy to have been able to see your hat trick," Tim says, which I think surprises all of us since he has had his reservations about Tyler.

"Oh yeah, that happened, didn't it?" Tyler sarcastically says. He can be such a shit sometimes.

"We should all hang out a bit if that's ok with you," Scott suggests, "I don't know when we all could be together like this again."

"Yeah, man, that's cool with me," Tyler says.

I sigh and try to talk to Faith with my facial expressions that I do not want to hang out tonight. I want to get back to his place and slowly take him out of that sexy suit. My heart is racing just thinking about all of the things I want to do him.

"We should probably get back home to Jade. It's getting late," Faith says, obviously able to read what I was trying to silently tell her. I mouth "thank you" to her. She subtly nods.

"Are you sure?" Tyler asks.

"Yeah, are you sure?" Scott repeats, sounding annoyed. "We need this."

"We'll talk in the car," Faith says, "We should get going."

"So soon? I didn't invite you guys out just to see me play. I was hoping to hang out, get a few drinks, maybe a bite to eat," Tyler says.

"Let them go," I mumble under my breath.

"Mmm?" he asks, confused, not quite hearing me. He leans his head down to me. "What was that?"

"You don't want to hang out tonight," I say in his ear, hoping he gets the hint.

"I don't?"

"You really, really want to go home right now." Surely now he will get what I'm trying to say to him.

"I thought you wanted me to get to know your friends better."

I'm going to have to just come out and say what I want because we could go all night with subtleties at this point and I'm losing patience and self control. "Dammit, Ty, I want you." I softly place my lips on his ear so there's no more mistaking what I mean.

"Oh. Uh. Yeah. We will hang out another time. Soon. I promise. We should all get going. I'll show you guys out."

"We have to get to Amy's to let Grace out anyway," Hannah says as she links arms with Tim.

"Thank you guys again for watching her," I say as we start walking through the garage to lead them outside.

"Any time. You know we love Grace and you guys need some time together."

Tyler and I look at each other with smiles on our faces. "Yeah, we do."

We walk through the doors and out to the street. We say our goodbyes and see you soons and go our separate ways. They go to where their cars are parked and we turn around and go back into the garage to where Tyler is parked. We are one of the only cars left. Everyone must have been in a rush to get home.

"I don't know why you didn't just say you wanted to fuck me. I would have ended this night way sooner," Tyler says as we get to his car.

"Well...I want to fuck you." I put my hands on his chest and push him up against the car and kiss him.

He grabs my ass with both hands and pulls me up against him while he kisses me back hard. "Did you mean here?" he asks as he tries to catch his breath after our lengthy kiss.

"Maybe," I say with a coy shrug and a cheeky smile.

He squeezes my ass harder and kisses up my neck. "You're so fucking bad," he breathily says into my ear. I desperately grab at the buttons of his shirt and start to unbutton them. "There are cameras."

"I don't care. Let them watch." I untie his tie and shove it into his pants pocket, making sure my hand grazes his cock while it's in there.

"Mmm. Let's go." He nibbles on my neck before biting down a bit on it. He takes my hand and leads me around the car, opens the door, and guides me in. He practically runs around the car, gets in, quickly turns the car on, and starts driving. "I can't believe the mood you're in right now. I fucking love it."

"It's been boiling up inside me. I think inside you too."

"It has. Can you wait until we get back to my house?"

"I don't know. Can you?" I place my hand on his knee and run it all the way up his thigh.

He starts driving faster. "It's a good thing I drove the Ferrari today." The engine roars as he changes into another gear and starts racing down the highway.

"You're going to get pulled over."

"A chance I'm willing to take." I start to move my hand from his thigh. He grabs my wrist to stop me. "Leave it there." I replace it back where it was. He continues to watch the road as his double dimples reveal the happiness in his smirk. He opens his legs a little further apart and I begin to rub the bulge that has formed in his perfectly tailored slacks. I can't help myself. I want him so bad right now. Part of me wants him to pull over so I can fuck him right here on the side of the highway, other part loves the build up and wants it to last.

We are flying down the highway when we see flashing lights behind us. "Oh fuck," I say as I remove my hand from in between Tyler's legs. "I told you you were going to get pulled over."

He pulls the car over and gets his information out of the glove box. "Relax. It'll be ok. I'll get my ticket and get back on our way. We aren't that far." I don't see how he can be so calm about this. I am about to explode and he's the one with the massive hard on.

"At least button your shirt," I say in a panic.

I reach over to try to button some of the buttons but he stops me. "Amy, don't worry." He kisses my forehead quickly and rolls the window down.

"Hey how are we doing this evening?" the officer asks as he shines his flashlight into the car and looks in.

"Very good, officer," Tyler says as calmly as can be.

"Where are y'all on your way to?"

"Just on our way home."

"Do you know why I pulled you over?"

"Yes, I was speeding and I'm sorry."

"Can I see your license, registration, and insurance?"

"Yeah." Tyler hands the officer his stuff and he begins to walk away with it. Tyler looks over at me and notices I'm nervous. I don't know why I'm nervous, I haven't even done anything wrong. I was in such a horny mood and now I don't know how I'm feeling. "Will you relax? It's ok. It's just a ticket. We will get back to it as soon as we get home."

I let out a big sigh. "I guess." The officer starts walking back towards us before even getting to his car. "That was fast."

He sticks his head in the window. "So, uh, I can't help noticing that you're Tyler Seguin." Tyler nods yes. "My girlfriend is a big fan. How about I let you off with a warning if you sign something for her? It's her birthday coming up and she'd flip out."

"Yeah, man, sure. No problem."

The officer goes back to his car and comes back with one of Tyler's hats. "This just came in the mail today. If you could sign it she'd love it even more." He hands Tyler the hat and a marker. I can't believe this is happening. Tyler signs the hat and hands it back to him. The officer gives Tyler all his information back to him. "Thank you so much."

"Listen, I know I was going pretty fast so if you need to give me the ticket..."

"Don't worry about it. Just make sure you drive the speed the rest of the way home. Stay safe."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it. Tell your girlfriend I said happy birthday."

"Will do. Y'all have a good night. No more speeding."

The officer walks back to his car and Tyler closes the window. He looks at me. "That turned out well."

"Only you would get out of a ticket and still ask for it anyway."

"I knew he would turn me down." He rubs my shoulder a few times. "Do you feel better now?" He waits for a few cars to go by before pulling back out onto the highway.

"Yeah, but that totally killed the mood."

"Not for me." He grabs my hand and places it back where it was before we got pulled over, on his junk. He still is as hard as he was before. He smiles wide, so proud of himself.

I shake my head. "Of course you are." He raises his eyebrows up and down. I can't help laughing. "You're adorable."

Once we are off of the highway and at a red light he grabs the back of my head, pulls me in, and kisses me. I moan a little in the kiss and I am right back in the mood. He teases my lips with his tongue and just as I open my mouth to let him in the car behind us beeps their horn. The light is green. We separate and continue on our way.

When we get to the house Tyler immediately lets the dogs out and puts food down for them. I go up to the bedroom and take all of my clothes off so I'm completely naked. I'm not wasting any time. As I sit on the edge of the bed waiting for Tyler I look over at his jersey and decide to put it back on. I want there to be something for him to take off of me.

I put the jersey on and check myself out in the full length mirror in the closet. I think I look pretty hot. I think he's going to like it. I'm not sure if that's a thing athletes like, their girls in their jersey like this. You can just see the bottom of my ass peeking out from under the bottom of the jersey. I'm tempted to take a picture because I really like the look, but before I can Tyler enters the room. I look over my shoulder at him and smile.

"Damn," is all he can say before he starts walking towards me. He circles around me, taking in the full view. "That's so sexy."

"Really? You like it?"

"Like it? I fucking love it." He lifts the jersey up a bit. "Is that all you have on?"

"Mmhmm."

He caresses my butt and pulls me up against him as he kisses me. I can feel him smirking as he pulls away from the kiss. "Were you checking yourself out in the mirror?"

"Maybe." I can feel my cheeks get a little warm from embarrassment. He wasn't supposed to see that.

He smiles. "You could not be any sexier as you are right now."

"I'm sure I can be."

"No. Trust me. This is it."

"Oh no, that means I've peaked."

"Shut the fuck up and kiss me." Even though my body is desperate for him I want this feeling to last so I start out kissing him slowly. I can tell by his hesitation that he was expecting me to go harder than I did. There's plenty of time for that. I take his jacket off of him as he matches his pace with mine. Before I can drop it to the floor he takes it from me. "This is expensive." He hangs it up on a hanger, holds my face with both hands, and continues to tenderly kiss me.

His shirt is still open from me unbuttoning it in the parking garage. I place my hands on his chest and slowly run my hands down his body. Every muscle tenses under my touch and my hands travel further and further down. I rub his bulge on the outside of his slacks. His hands start to wander up and down my back. The feel of his skin on mine sends shockwaves throughout my body. I undo his belt and unbutton his slacks. They drop to the floor and his cock is sprung free. I break from the kiss to look down at it. "Why am I even surprised you're not wearing any underwear?" I say as I wrap my fingers around it. "I know I shouldn't be."

"No room in those slacks," he says in a primal growl as I begin to stroke him. With my free hand I attempt to take his shirt off of him, he needs to help me but it finally joins his slacks on the floor. "Can we move this closer to the bed? I don't want our first time to be in the closet."

"Such a romantic," I tease as I let him go.

He steps out of the slacks and I start to walk out of the closet. He slaps my ass and wraps his arms around my back from behind. He kisses my shoulder. "You know I can tease you all night, but that's not what you want." He presses his erection up against my ass. I turn around and kiss him, more desperately this time. The times of wanting to savor every second are over. I'm unraveling quickly. I need him inside of me. This time he dictates the pace, slowing us down, knowing how much I want him. He teases my lips with his tongue and slowly runs it along mine. He first goes for my clit, but puts two fingers inside of me. "You're so wet."

"I have been since the first period."

"I think it's time for you to lose the jersey." I take it off slowly as he continues to slowly pump his fingers in and out of me. I wrap my arms around his neck and let out a moan into his ear. I run my fingers through his hair as I kiss his neck.

We finally make it to the bed. He gently lies me down then hovers over me. He smiles as he looks down at me. I wonder what's going through his head. "Are you going to kiss me or what?" I ask as my impatience grows.

"I'm just admiring how beautiful you are. You're going to have to deal with it."

"Thanks, Ty." He lowers himself down and kisses my neck. I dig my fingers into his back as he teases me with the head of his cock. "Don't fucking start." That's all we've been doing to each other lately, teasing each other until orgasm. I don't want that right now. I want him inside of me. I want him to fuck me.

He smiles and lets out a little laugh. "What's the matter? Why the rush?" I can't answer as he immediately kisses me hard. Every single thing he's doing is deliberate. He wants to drive me crazy. It's like a game. Normally I have no problem playing, but I'm desperate and he knows it. I run my hands down his back and grab onto his ass, trying to pull him closer to me, but he resists and actually pulls back. "Don't you want to savor this?" he asks in my ear.

"Yes, but..."

"I'm going to blow your mind, don't worry about that, just relax and enjoy."

I let out a long breath and he continues kissing me. I run my fingertips up and down his back. He's back to being tender. He kisses from my lips, to my neck, to my chest, and takes my nipple in his mouth and massages it with his tongue. I rub the back of his head, knowing he likes it. He runs his hand up and down my inner thigh, which makes me open my legs a little bit wider to grant him better access, but he doesn't move from my thigh. I buck my hips up, trying to hint to him what I want. He knows what I want. He looks up at me and smirks before starting to move down my body with his kisses. He stops at my stomach and kisses around my belly button as he continues to massage my inner thigh. The pace of my breathing picks up, the more I anticipate him, the more turned on I get.

"Tyler, please," I plead.

He looks up at me. "Please what?"

"Oh my god, you know what."

"Tell me what you want, I might just give it to you."

"I want you to fuck me."

"Potty mouth." He smirks proudly at himself.

"Tyler, I swear to..." Before I can finish my sentence he kisses me. This time it's different. He's never kissed me like this before. No one's ever kissed me like this before. He takes time kissing my lips. Every touch is more and more electric than the last. Passion isn't the word to describe what's behind this kiss. I don't think there's a word for it. It's like I can feel everything he is and everything he's feeling in it. I almost forget where I am and what I'm doing. It's intoxicating. I know nothing of this world anymore besides this kiss that I have been entranced by. I could live in this kiss for the rest of my life. I'm pulled back to reality with the feeling of him slowly penetrating me. I let a drawn out, "oh god," as his whole length fills me up.

The both of us have been putting this off for what feels like forever now, thinking it was the right thing to do or whatever. Taking things slow can be so overrated sometimes, but also so worth it at the same time. Would this feel as special if we would have done it immediately? Would we even still be "together"? Considering his track record, probably not. There's no denying this is special, I can tell by the way he looks at me, by the way he kisses me, by the way he's taking his time making every second of it more and more magical.

I offer to change positions, to give him a rest, to do some of the work, but he refuses. This is his show and I am just along for the journey, but he's making me the star. "Next time," he says into my ear before placing a sweet kiss on my forehead. This is everything I thought sex would be with Tyler, but so much more. He's definitely surprised me with how...tender he's being, how sweet he is. I was halfway expecting to just be thrust into a few times and that would be it. That is not the case, not even close to it. I'm not exaggerating when I say this has got to be what heaven feels like. I don't want it to end, I'm addicted, but it can't last forever and it doesn't.

After we take a quick shower to clean ourselves off we return to the bed, still naked. I lie down on my back and he rests his head on my chest as he drapes his arm over my stomach. I stroke his hair, still wet from the shower, and twirl the curly ends around my finger. "Wore yourself out, did you?" I ask as i rub his back a few times before returning to his hair.

"Mmhmm," he hums as he traces circles on my stomach with his fingertip.

"That tickles, stop."

He looks up at me and smiles. "Sorry, not meaning to." He continues to do it, though. I giggle as he hits a more ticklish spot and instinctually slap his hand. "Ok, ok, I'm stopping."

"Part of me wants to call out tomorrow. I can have a nice relaxing day to myself."

"How is that conversation going to go? Hi, boss, I'm calling in well fucked. I can't leave the bed. I'm going to need to take the day to recover." He hysterically laughs.

I smack the back of his head, but I laugh too. "You're fucking ridiculous."

"You love it."

"You're lucky I love it, you shit."

"I know I am." I softly kiss him. He rests his head back down on my chest. I close my eyes, ready to fall asleep, when the sounds of dogs whining on the other side of the door seem to echo throughout the room. "Leave them out there," he mumbles, he's half asleep himself.

"They'll whine all night if I don't open the door."

He holds onto me tight. "Comfy."

"I'll be right back." I pry his hands off of me and slip out from under him. His head drops to the bed, he doesn't even trying to hold it up.

He groans as he sits up. "I'm going to have to put shorts on. I don't trust being naked in the bed with those monsters." He gets out of bed and grabs shorts and puts them on while I open the door and they come running in. They surround Tyler before coming back to me. "Don't look too long, guys, she's mine." He gets in bed and hugs onto a pillow.

"I've been replaced," I pout as I grab some clothes to put on to sleep in.

"You snooze you lose."

Marshall and Cash take their spot at the end of the bed and I have to shove Gerry over so I can sleep next to Tyler. "Everyone had such a great time tonight. I know it feels so long ago, but they wanted me to thank you for the tickets and the suite and everything."

"Of course, any time."

"I think they'll all want to come back to another one. They're hooked."

"Just let me know and I'll leave them tickets."

"That's so nice of you, Ty, I'm sure they wouldn't mind buying their own tickets."

"Nonsense. Your friends are my friends and I always take care of my friends. My friends are more like family, really." I just look at him. He's so sweet. I know his reputation, but it's hard to think it's the same guy I've come to know. "What?"

"You're a great guy, Tyler."

He smiles. "I'm trying to be."

I reach over and touch his cheek, rubbing my hand on his beard a few times. "You don't have to try as hard as you think you do." I lean in and kiss him.

"Yeah maybe." He snuggles up to me and nuzzles into my neck. I wrap my arms around him. I don't know how long we are going to stay like this, but I can feel him relax in my arms. "You should call out tomorrow. After I get back from practice we can have a nice day together before I leave on Wednesday." He sounds so exhausted, it's been a long night. He closes his eyes and I kiss his cheek a few times before I drift off to sleep as well.


	10. I told my dad about you

Ever since I could remember it's always just been me and my dad. My mom left when I was so young and even though he's dated, he's never found that person to fill that void she left. You could say I'm a daddy's girl, but that wouldn't even begin to describe how close we are. He's my rock, my best friend, my everything, and I'm that for him. You could understand that when it was finally time for me to move that it was really hard on him, but knew I wouldn't be around forever so he had to let me go. He asked me to promise that at the very least I would come over every Sunday to spend time with him and you bet that if it's during football season that it would be to watch the Cowboys. I gladly agreed and that's been the tradition ever since. Today is no different. The Cowboys are away so we'll be home to watch the game. That's not the only reason I'm here today, though. Today's the day I tell my dad about Tyler. It's time.

My dad can be pretty overprotective of me and ever since my last breakup it's gotten even worse. He let his guard down and let himself trust him, he saw David as a son. I'm not the only one who got hurt when we finally ended it. I just hope my dad gives Tyler a fair chance and doesn't punish him for the sins of others.

Dad. Charles or Chuck, never Charlie. Single dad. High school football coach. Let's face it, a saint for putting up with me all on his own for all of these years. He speaks his mind and is not afraid to be the unpopular opinion. Family is the most important thing to him. The Cowboys come next. That's only half a joke. He wants to come off tough but deep down he's a big, soft teddy bear. He had his heart broken 33 years ago and has never seemed to recover. I make sure I love him enough that he never feels like he's missing out. I know it's not the same, but he always says I am more than enough. He has a dry sense of humor and has a heart of gold. All of my friends love him and he loves them too. What can I say? I have the best dad in the whole world.

I shouldn't be nervous. This is a good thing. I'm happy. I know he wants me to be happy. I also know he's going to have a million questions and he's going to be judgmental and he's going to worry way too much. My friends already think I'm crazy and they're my friends. This is my dad. My overprotective dad.

"Is everything ok?" he asks.

"Yeah, why?"

"Your mind is somewhere else."

"No, I'm good. Everything's good."

"Amy..."

I should have known better than to try to pull one over on him. He knows me better than I know myself.

"Dad..."

"Out with it."

"It's noth..." I know I came over here with the intentions of telling him about Tyler, but now I'm not so sure that's what I want to do right now anymore. Maybe it should wait until we are more serious, if that ever happens.

"Don't tell me it's nothing. Something is going on."

I sigh. "Ok, there is something, but it's not bad. Not for me."

"What is it?"

"I kinda started seeing someone."

He picks up the remote from the coffee table and turns the game off, something I have never seen in my 34 years on this planet. He places the remote back down and looks at me. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. It's still a little new, but I really like him."

"What does kinda seeing mean?"

"It means we haven't put a label on it yet."

He rolls his eyes. "He doesn't want to commit."

"Both of us. We've agreed to take it slow."

"Who is he? How did you meet? How long have you been keeping this from me?" He questions.

"Woah woah, slow down."

"I want to know everything about this guy."

"I know you do."

"And you're going to tell me."

"His name is Tyler. He plays hockey. He's on the Stars. He's actually really good."

"A professional athlete?"

"Yeah."

"Go on." I can't get a read on him to figure out if he thinks that's a good thing or a bad thing.

"He's from Canada, around the Toronto area. He's, um, well he's younger than me."

"How much younger?"

"Nine. Nine years younger."

"No wonder he doesn't want to commit. You're at different stages of life. You need someone who is going to want to settle down, start a family."

"I'm in no rush. I'd rather be happy, and I'm so happy."

"Where did you meet this guy anyway?"

"At the dog park. He has three labs of his own."

"Well that's good at least."

"Grace loves him and his boys."

"I'm going to have to have a talk with her to make sure she's taking care of you and keeping a close eye on this guy."I laugh. "I'm not joking. She and I have an understanding."

"She's taking good care of me, I promise."

He shakes his head. "I don't know about this whole professional athlete thing. They're on the road a lot. Busy. Usually put the game first. Unfaithful."

"Passionate, loyal, hard working, driven. Not all of them are unfaithful."

"A good amount are. You deserve perfect."

"There's no such thing, dad. Sure, it's hard to deal with him being away a lot but it's worth it. I'm learning how to make it work, how to balance it all."

"You shouldn't have to. You should be with someone who can always be there."

"Tyler's who I want to be with."

"But not fully committed to."

"It's complicated."

"That's an excuse."

I sigh. "I know you're worried about me getting hurt, believe me I am too, that's why I'm being so cautious. I have to get back out there if I'm going to find someone that won't hurt me, though, and that means taking chances as scary as that is."

"I know that. It's just hard. I hate to see you in pain. You're my little girl and I want you to be taken care of and loved."

"I know what happened between me and David wasn't easy on you, and not just because I got hurt."

"That's not what's important. Your happiness is."

"I am so happy, dad, you have to believe me. It's the happiest I've ever been."

"It's going to take a while for me to trust him."

"That's fine, as long as you actually give him a chance."

"I'll try." He takes his phone out of his pocket. "You said his name is Tyler? What's his last name?"

"Are you going to Google him? Because..."

"Last name." It wasn't a request. It was a demand.

"Seguin," I reluctantly say. I know what he's going to find when he looks him up.

He starts typing on his phone. After a few minutes he looks up at me from his phone. "Oh, honey, absolutely not."

"It's not your call."

"He's bad news. Have you even looked him up?"

"He and I have talked about it."

"And you still want to be with him? You're better than this."

"He's really a great guy, and he treats me amazingly."

"He better."

I smile. It can be frustrating at times, but I know it's because he loves me so much. "I love you."

"I love you too. I just want what's best for you."

"I know. Once you meet him you'll see how great he is."

"And when will that be?"

"I don't know. Soon?"

"Sooner than later."

"Yes, dad."

He starts looking on his phone again. His eyes go wide and he rubs his hand over his face. I'm not sure I even want to know what he just came across. "I thought you said he is a hockey player and not a porn star."

I almost spit out my water. "What?"

He flips his phone around and holds it out for me to see. On the screen I see Tyler posing naked. Tyler naked with a duck, Tyler naked on a zamboni, Tyler naked out on the ice. I always forget those pictures are out there. "That's not porn, dad, that's actually for ESPN."

"He's still naked. How can you be interested someone who's posed naked?"

"The body issue showcases athletes and their bodies as works of art. There's nothing wrong with it. So many different athletes have done it."

"It doesn't make it right."

"The talk about conditioning and training and keeping in peak physical condition for their sport. It's inspiring."

"I don't think you'll ever convince me differently."

"Ezekiel Elliott posed last year."

"Oh come on, don't ruin Zeke for me."

"A lot of football players do it."

He puts his phone down. "I just...I've now seen way too much of this guy."

I have to stifle a laugh. "Sorry."

He picks up the remote and turns the game back on. "If you're going to be dating a professional athlete couldn't it at least be a Cowboy?"

"Like Zeke?" He glares at me. I giggle. "Oh come on, that was funny and you know it."

"How long has this been going on between you two?" And the questions continue. I can't even get a laugh out of him today, even just a smile would be nice.

"Oh, I thought we were done with that for now."

"Nope."

"Around two months. It feels so much longer, though."

"And you're just telling me now?"

"Um. Yeah. I didn't want to tell you right away just in case things didn't work out. I know how worried you get. I wanted to spare you."

"So what's changed?"

"I don't know. I just thought it was time to tell you."

"Maybe it's because you want more with him. Or you have more with him than you're letting on."

"I don't know."

"If he wanted to you to be his girlfriend would you say yes?"

I don't even have to think of my response. "Of course I would."

"Hm."

"What's hm?"

"Nothing." Dak Prescott gets sacked hard. "Come on, guys, you gotta protect him better than that." I continue to look at him for clarification. "What?"

"What's hm?" I'm not going to let him get off that easy. I need to know what's on his mind.

"I know you say you want the same things but it just doesn't seem like that to me. You want more."

"It's not that simple. Would I love to be his girlfriend? Absolutely. But I'm good with the way things are now too. He's not a guy that likes to commit and I'm scared of getting hurt again. It's working for us. I'm happy. I like him a lot and I know he feels the same way."

"I see." We continue to watch the game in silence, cheering when something good happens and cursing when they mess up. "What do the guys think about him? I assume they've met him by now." My dad loves my guy friends and they love him. He trusts them. He looks at them all like sons. It's not a surprise that he wants to know their opinion.

"Scott seems to like him. Brian is a little indifferent."

"What about Timothy?"

"He's still not sure. He's more cautious. He doesn't exactly trust Tyler."

"I trust Timothy's judgement. You should be cautious too."

I roll my eyes. "Tim doesn't know Tyler, dad."

"But he's a good judge of character and he cares about you."

"Tim worries too much, kinda like someone else I know."

"It's because we love you."

"You love me. Tim loves Hannah."

"He loves you too. You guys are so close. I still don't see how you guys haven't ended up together."

"Because we are just friends. He's like a brother to me. That would be weird."

"At least I trust him."

"You'll trust Tyler too, and I am sure you're going to like him."

"Well, tell me what he's like."

"He has the biggest heart and is so sweet but refuses to admit it or see it in himself. He's funny, always makes me laugh. He's such a goofball. He's not afraid to be himself. He's always happy, always so positive. He loves his family and friends, and his dogs are his children. He's been away from home for so long, but never has forgotten where he came from. He's a hard worker, driven, passionate, and always strives to be better. He's got an attitude, which I love but also drives me crazy sometimes. He's an amazing man who is living his dream and he's chosen me to care about. He makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world. He has his flaws, sure, but don't we all? I really think you're going to like him if you give him a chance."

"I want to meet him." That's typical dad to say something like that after I just poured my heart and soul out about someone.

"He's on a road trip right now but when he gets back I promise we will all get together."

"I guess I'm going to have to start watching hockey now."

I smile. "You should. It's really exciting to watch and Tyler is really good. He has a game tonight if you want to watch together. I can go home and get Grace really quick."

"He must be really special if you're willing to give up Sunday Night Football for him."

"He is, dad."

"Go get Grace. We can watch together."

When I get back to my dad's house Grace bolts straight straight to him. She loves her grandpa. She jumps up onto the chair with him and sits on his lap like she did when she was a puppy and actually small enough to fit there. She lies across his lap with her butt being supported by the arm rest.

"You could move to the couch and make things a little more comfortable," I suggest.

"We are fine right here, aren't we, Grace?" She looks up at him and wags her tail. "She loves grandpa time."

"I know she does, so does grandpa." I grab the remote and unmute the pregame show. "They always have good information on the pregame show."

"They might as well be speaking Greek."

"You'll get the hang of it. I'm still learning myself."

He pets Grace's head. "Is this guy good enough for your mommy? Tell grandpa the truth."

"Say Tyler, she knows his name."

He gives me a skeptical look then looks down into her eyes. She's lovingly looking up at him. He sighs and shakes his head before saying, "do you like Tyler?" Her head perks up and she wags her tail.

"I told you she loves him." They show him on the pregame show. "There he is. They're talking about him. He has a nine game point streak going right now."

They show a few highlights of some of his recent goals and assists. My dad looks over at me. "Impressive."

"He's really good. One of the better players in the league."

"At least there's that. I'd hate to have to watch this stuff just to see some bench warmer play."

"You're terrible!" He chuckles to himself. "It's cute you'd still watch him, though."

"Of course. We support each other in this family. You know that."

That's the thing about my dad. There are no friends, boyfriends, girlfriends. If you're in the this, you're family. That's why he takes things so hard. Family loves and supports each other. He will do anything for my friends because to him they're also his children. It may take a while for him to warm up to Tyler, but he's still considered part of the family. This is partially the reason I waited so long to tell him. He takes family seriously. There are no casual members.

To my surprise my dad makes it through the whole game without losing interest. Tyler had a goal and a few assists so he kept his point streak alive. My dad won't admit it, but I think he's already a fan. I caught him a few times getting really into it. It's relieving to see. Maybe I can have more nights like this with him. It'll help Tyler's case I think. They interview Tyler post game and my dad is glued to the TV. I love watching Tyler's interviews, you never know what side of him you're going to get.

"He's good with the media," my dad says.

"They request him a lot. He's one of the leaders on the team."

"I'll let you and Grace get home. I know you have work in the morning." He pats Grace on the butt a few times and she jumps down. We both stand up and he hugs me. "I am glad you're happy. I just worry."

"I know you do, dad."

He kisses my cheek. "Get home safe. I'll talk to you soon. Love you."

"I love you too."

He squats down to pet Grace and give her kisses. "Grandpa loves Grace too."

"You big ole softy," I tease.

He stands up and opens the door for me. "Goodnight, sweetie."

"Night, dad."

Once I get home I get ready for bed. It's getting late and I do have work in the morning. Once I change into my pajamas Grace and I settle into bed. Usually Tyler and I will talk before bed, even if it's only a text. I don't know if he's on the plane or not. I shoot him a text.

Are you able to talk? Wanna call you

Yup. Not leaving until tomorrow.

I call him and put the call on speaker phone so Grace can hear him. It's routine at this point.

"No FaceTime tonight?"

"Is that how you answer the phone?"

"It's a valid question. Well?"

"I don't have the energy to hold the phone up tonight."

"You do sound tired. Long day?"

"Day with dad."

"Oh right, it's Sunday. Cowboys win?"

"Yeah, they won."

"That's good. Did you watch my game?"

"Of course. We, uh, actually watched together."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I told him about you."

"Oh god. You didn't tell him where I live, did you?"

"No I didn't. You're safe."

"How did that go?" Tyler knows how protective my dad is of me.

"Not as bad as I thought it would I guess."

"But not good."

"Well, he saw your body issue pictures so that was interesting."

He giggles. "Oh no."

"He's cautious because you're an athlete and the fact we aren't fully committing to each other worries him. He doesn't quite trust you. He also Googled you and you know what's all over the internet."

"Great."

"I told him how happy I am and how amazing you are."

"I'm going to have to do some sucking up, aren't I?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Lovely."

"At least he's willing to give you a chance."

"Well thank god for that, I guess."

"He wants to meet you."

"Yeah, to kill me."

"No, not to kill you. I wouldn't let that happen."

"You'd protect me?"

"Of course. I kinda like having you around."

"Ok good. I feel safe now." I can hear the smile in his tone.

"I can't wait for you to come back."

"Same."

I close my eyes for a second, which turns into a few seconds. "Fuck, I'm falling asleep."

"Go to bed then. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Yeah, ok, I just miss you."

"I miss you too, but you need your sleep."

"Yeah."

"Oh, um, before you go...I told my mom about you."

"You did?"

"Mmhmm."

"Uh oh. I hope she didn't see my naked pictures on the internet."

"Go to bed." I laugh. "Such a fucking smart ass."

"But you like me anyway."

"I do."

"I hope that went better than with my dad."

"She's excited. She wants to meet you too."

"Hopefully soon. The holidays are coming up."

"Yeah, we'll figure it out. Ok, get some sleep. Talk to you tomorrow. Kiss Grace for me."

"Will do. Safe travels."

"Kisses."

I smile. "Kisses."


	11. Tell your dad not to buy a turkey

Tyler and I hadn't planned on hanging out today, but I took the day off to take care of a few things and decided to surprise him at practice. I have never seen a practice before and he has told me that they're open to the public so I decided today would be the day I watch my first practice. Being back at the practice facility brings back good memories from when he took me skating. There are a lot more people here today. I walk through the doors to the rink and sit down on the bleachers. Right now only the goalies are out on the ice. Ben and Kari. I've been trying so hard to remember everyone's faces and names and what they do on the team.

One by one the players start to trickle out onto the ice. I like watching how each of them prepares for the start of practice. I'm looking forward to seeing Tyler. He's been away on a road trip, so of course I've been missing him.

Tyler finally emerges from the locker room and it immediately brings a smile to my face. I wonder how long it will take him to notice that I'm here. I decide to stand up along the boards to get a closer look, the bleachers are too far away and it seems that's where most people are watching practice from anyway. I love watching Tyler at work. He has tremendous skill. I have to admit it's a big turn on for me.

He drops down to the ice to stretch and even though he is across the ice from me he hasn't spotted me yet. The coach skates over and starts talking to him. They seem to be having a light conversation as Tyler laughs and smiles a few times. He goes back to stretching and starts looking around and he finally sees me. He does a double take and opens his eyes wide with surprise, a smile soon follows. He gives me a sheepish wave before standing up and skating towards the net with a puck and shooting. He whizzes by, tapping his stick on the glass when he gets in front of me.

I am so happy I decided to come to practice. It's definitely a whole different experience than watching warm ups or a game. You get to see the players fine tuning their skills, learning, always learning. I catch Tyler looking over at me a few times and every time he does, he smiles. Everytime he smiles, it triggers a smile on my face. At one point he's standing by the boards with Jamie and I just know they're talking about me. They're not subtle about it. Talking, looking over, talking some more, laughs, looking over at me. They're such boys. I don't even want to know what Tyler is telling him.

After practice ends I walk out into the hallway, not sure where to go next. I know he will be in the locker room, I just don't know how long. I go into Rally House and look around for a bit. I wind up buying a few things while I'm in there. I get myself a sweatshirt and some Stars pajama pants and I buy my dad a Stars hat. He's a big hat wearing guy, so I figure he needs a Stars one to support Tyler.

I leave the Rally House and start to walk towards the hallway that leads to the parking garage. Maybe I'll just wait for Tyler out there. The doors open and I walk through them. There are fans lined up behind a rope and it stretches all the way down the hallway. I take a picture and send it to Tyler.

_Your adoring fans await_

_I was thinking more like meet me out in the hallway by the staff entrance to the rink and we can go to the garage through the locker room._

_Ok._

_I should be maybe a half hour._

_Maybe I'll go spend more money in Rally House_

_What? You shouldn't be spending any money at all._

_Only got a few things._

_My turn in cryo, I'll text you when I'm coming out to get you._

There are benches in the hallway outside of the practice rink so I take a seat and wait for Tyler's text. I took a few pictures and video during practice so I post a few things to my Instagram story. Tom Holy winds up coming out and we talk for a few minutes, so that helps me pass the time. I take a few dorky selfies using some Snapchat filters and post them. Tyler has posted a few videos from the cryo chamber on Snapchat so I watch those. I'm starting to run out of things to occupy myself so I'm relieved when I get the text from Tyler that he will be out to get me.

He peeks his head out of the door and waves me in, I step in before anyone notices him there and I follow him through the locker room doors. Once we are out of sight he pulls me in for a hug. "It's so great to see you," he says as he nuzzles his face into my hair as we continue hugging each other.

"You too, sweetie," I say, muffled into his chest.

We finally let go of each other. "Skipping work just to see me? So bad."

"I already had this day scheduled off to get some things done, getting to see you is a bonus."

"It was nice looking up and seeing you there, I wasn't expecting it."

"I had to come see you practice. You've told me so much about it."

"Meet me at my house. We'll order lunch and hang out." We start to make our way out to the garage.

"Can we pick up Chipotle? Or maybe I can get it and meet you at home."

"Absolutely." He digs into his pocket, takes his wallet out, and takes his credit card out of the wallet. "Here."

"I would have gotten it," I say as I take the card from him, knowing there would be no use in arguing with him about it.

"I know you would have. Speaking of spending money. What did you get?" He asks as he opens the Rally House bag and peers in.

"Just a few things to be comfy in around the house and a hat for my dad."

"A hat, really? I have tons of hats you could have chosen from."

"Yeah, I know. I was bored, though, and I love shopping."

We get to the door I need to take to get back to the main garage. This is where we will have to part ways. "Mmhmm. Well, I'll text you my order and see you back at my place." He kisses my forehead.

"It is your usual?"

"Yeah."

"Already know it," I say proudly as I open the door.

"Show off!" He shouts to me as I step through the door. There are still quite a bit of fans waiting, some are probably waiting for Tyler. Part of me feels bad, but I'm not going to say anything. I step under the rope and head to my car.

As I pull up to the house I see that Tyler and Gerry are sitting on the stoop waiting for me. He smiles and stands up as I park. Gerry walks around to my side of the car and practically jumps in my lap as soon as I open the door. "He probably smelled the food from down the road," Tyler says as he pulls Gerry back. "How is it that all of my children are obsessed with food?"

I grab the bag from the passenger seat. "Because their daddy spoils them." He laughs mockingly and playfully snarls at me. "He could just be happy to see me, you know."

"Who would even?" He teases.

"Keep talking, Seguin."

"Ohhhh. Seguin, eh? Hot." He scrunches his nose and laughs before wrapping me up in a hug and kissing my cheek a bunch of times.

"You're lucky you were born cute, you pain in the ass." He takes the bag from me and we walk inside.

"I know." He smiles wide. He places the bag down on the table to start distributing the food, and I go to the fridge to get us drinks. "It's good that you're here actually. I wanted to talk to you about something."

My heart skips a beat when he says that. Is it a good something or a bad something? I can't imagine it being a bad something, but you just never know. I close the door after grabbing us each a water and walk over to the island where our food is set up. "What kind of something?" I suspiciously ask, not really sure I want to know the answer.

He looks at me confused for a second then the light bulb goes off in his head. "Oh! No no no, it's nothing bad. Promise."

"Don't scare me like that, Tyler."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I wasn't thinking."

I begin eating but I can't shake the curiosity. My mind starts to wander. What could he want to talk to me about? It's a good thing. That's, well, that's a good thing. I let out a sigh. He looks up at me with an eyebrow raised, as if he's silently asking me what that sigh was about. I smile and he smiles too, and I'm back into my thoughts. What if, no it couldn't be. But maybe? Maybe this is it. Maybe he's finally ready to make a commitment. Maybe he's finally going to ask me to be his girlfriend. I didn't know I wanted it so much until this moment, until the possibility of it being real for once. I shake my thoughts away, trying not to get my hopes up too much.

"What did you want to talk about?" I can't help myself. I need to know.

"After we eat."

"You're killing me, you know that?"

"Don't be so impatient. I told you it's a good thing."

"I know, which makes me want to know even more."

"After. We. Eat." He boops my nose with the tip of this finger and says a high pitched, "boop."

I roll my eyes, fighting my amusement, but he's hard to resist. He smiles and raises his eyebrows. He knows what to do to get out of being in trouble. I hate that all it takes is a smile. It's not fair. "You're an asshole," I say with a smile of my own. I couldn't stop myself even if I tried.

He giggles. "A lovable asshole."

"Mmhm. An asshole just the same."

"I'll take it."

I shake my head and go back to eating, but the curiosity is still nagging at me. I need to know something, anything. "Can you at least tell me what it's about?"

He drops his fork into his burrito bowl. "Your dad. I guess. In a way."

"My dad? Oh." My heart sinks and I let out a long sigh. I should have known better than to get my hopes up. I'm disappointed. It kinda hurts actually. I guess I wanted it more than I thought I did. I hang my head.

"What's wrong?"

I perk back up, not wanting him to think anything is wrong. "Oh. Um. They forgot my guac."

He shakes his head in disgust. "You know, they do that shit all of the time. You gotta make sure you always check the bag before you leave."

"Uh. Yeah. I will make sure to do that from now on."

"I mean they charge you for it, you would think they'd make sure to give it to you. Fucking bullshit."

I can't help smiling at how cute it is that he's mad over it. I didn't even ask for guac. I had to come up with something, though. "It's ok. Their guac isn't that good anyway."

"You're right. Don't ask for it anymore. That'll show them."

"Right."

We go back to eating. My mind is racing with all of these thoughts. I still want to know what Tyler wants to talk about and now there are all of these other thoughts floating around. I thought I was satisfied with the way things are. Well I am. But maybe everyone is right. I guess there is a part of me that wants more. I'm not going to let all of this get to me, though, we have a rare unscheduled day together and I'm going to enjoy it. All I wanted while he was on the road was to be with him so I'm not going to waste that dwelling on these thoughts that have taken over.

"It's really great to have you here. You gotta surprise me like that more often," he says after he finishes. "Hurry up and finish so we can cuddle."

I look down at my food and I haven't touched it in a few minutes. I'm more distracted than I thought. "I only have a set amount of sick days, but I'll make sure to use one to surprise you some time in the near future."

"Just one?" He pouts his lower lip out to look as pathetic as he can.

"We'll see." I lean over the island and softly kiss his pouted out lip. He smiles. I finish up my food and we clean up afterwards.

We go to the living room where we both collapse onto the couch. Tyler starts scrolling through Netflix for something for us to watch. I tuck my feet up on to the couch next to me and lean into Tyler, who wraps his arm around me and pulls me close. "I know you're just bursting at the seams to know what I want to talk to you about," he says before kissing my temple.

"Just a little."

"I was just wondering if you and your dad have plans for Thanksgiving."

"Nothing crazy. I'll probably just go to his place to hang out and watch the games. Did you want to come?"

"Wouldn't you rather be at the game?"

"Yeah, of course, but we can't afford tickets."

"Tell your dad not to buy a turkey."

I look at him for a beat, letting my brain process what it is he's trying to tell me. A smile slowly creeps across his face. "Wait. Are you serious?" I ask once I realize what he's saying.

"Yeah. I got all three of us tickets. I hope it's ok that I tag along."

I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him. "Thank you so much. He's going to flip out."

"I'm hoping that'll get me on his good side."

"It's definitely a step in the right direction."

"It's good to know he can be bought."

"Only when it comes to the Cowboys."

"Are you excited?"

"Yeah, I am. I can't wait. I haven't been to a game live in a long time. Thanks again, Tyler, he's going to love it."

"And you too, right? Because as much as I want to impress your dad, your happiness comes first."

I smile. "Yes, of course, you know how much I love the Cowboys."

"I do."

"And you're going to be meeting my dad."

"I figure we will be in a public place so he can't kill me."

"He won't kill you. I promise. Sure, he looks big and a little scary, but he's harmless."

"How big are we talking?"

"He's 6'5."

"Of course he is."

"Relax. There's no reason for him to want to kill you. He's going to love you."

He sighs. "I hope so." He kisses me. "So, catch me up on everything I missed while I was away. We didn't get to talk much."

"I was practicing my skating. They had some open skates in Frisco and I want to get better."

"How did that go?"

"I managed to stay on my feet the whole time, but I wasn't going anywhere fast."

"But you're making progress. I wish I was there to.see you."

"You're probably better off not seeing."

"Not true. I would love to be there to help you. Besides, you're cute on skates."

"Thanks, Ty."

He smiles. "Next time we will go together. Who did you go with?"

"It was me and the girls."

"Oh my god, I bet that was a sight. No one took videos?"

"We were all a mess. Too busy trying not to fall to take videos."

"What do you guys even have Snapchat for?"

"Just the selfie filters."

"You do post a lot of those, don't you?"

"Mmhmm."

"They always make me smile."

"You getting soft on me?"

"Never," he says into my ear then kisses my cheek.

"Naughty boy." He giggles, which makes my heart flutter. I love his laugh. "We all went to Mudders the other night and they had a dart competition. Guess who won."

"I imagine you kicked all of their asses."

"I did."

"Good job. Did you win anything?"

"Five hundred bucks."

"Nice. None of that was on Snapchat either." He shakes his head. "Shame."

"I always forget to use it."

"Old age is rough, eh?" he teases. A smile slowly creeps along his face. I smack his chest. "Ow!"

"You're asking for it."

"Oh so tough." He sticks his face in my face all the way until our noses are touching. I look into his eyes and run my tongue over my lips. He looks down at my lips and back up into my eyes and smiles. I tickle him and he jumps back. "Hey!"

"Did you think I was going to kiss you after you called me old?"

"I was hoping." I tickle him again and he laughs. "Stop!"

"I don't think I'm going to." I pin him down and tickle him some more and he's hysterical laughing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he cries out.

"Can't hear you. Someone's laughing too loudly."

He grabs me by the ass and pulls me on top of him and kisses me hard, which brings me to another atmosphere. My hands leave his side and wind up in his hair as I kiss him back and just like that I am vanquished. We break from the kiss, both out of breath. "This is my favorite view of you."

"Me on top of you."

"Of course."

"You are something else."

He pats my ass. "Come on, let's watch a movie."

I get off of him and he lays back on the corner of the couch where the armrest meets the back and opens his legs so I can sit in between them. I lie back against him and he wraps his arms around me. He turns the movie on and I begin to relax.

I run my fingertips up and down his forearms, tracing his tattoos now and again. He kisses my cheek and makes his way to my ear. I suck in a deep breath as he nibbles around my ear, down to my earlobe, and winding up on my neck. I reach up over our heads and run my fingers through his hair, massaging his head in the process. His hair is so soft, no product in it today.

His hands explore my body as we get more into it. I tilt my head up to kiss him. I need his lips on mine, I'll explode if he stays on my neck any longer. His hands continue to roam as we begin to kiss more passionately. I give his hair a gentle tug as he hits a sweet spot. He smiles and continues, his hands now under my clothes, touching skin. I'm addicted. This is a high I've never felt with anyone before.

One hand continues to up my stomach and to my breast as he other makes its way down and into my pants. Our kisses become more desperate and sloppy. I grab onto his thighs but I can't get to what I really want. I get up off of him and he repositions himself before I straddle him. He immediately grabs my ass and pulls me hard into his erection as I grind on him. I let out a moan. He grabs the bottom of my shirt and pulls it up and over my head and places it on the couch next to him. I am dizzy as we continue to kiss and I continue to grind on him.

Gerry starts barking and all three dogs come running to the front door, which begins to open. I look back over my shoulder behind me and Tyler looks around me. The door swings open all the way and I jump off of him. I grab my shirt and hold it over my topless body. I look down at the floor embarrassed.

"What the fuck, man?" Tyler angrily snaps.

"Sorry, I didn't know you had a girl here."

"I didn't know you were coming over. I would have told you not to."

"I've been texting you."

"I didn't see them. I've been a little preoccupied."

"I see," he says as he looks at me.

I stand behind Tyler to shield myself more from him. "I never answered so why did you think it was ok to just show up?" I can tell Tyler is getting more and more aggravated with him about the whole situation. I am completely mortified.

"I always do."

"Not anymore. Get out."

"Damn, I said I was sorry."

"Just go!" Tyler yells. His friend rolls his eyes, turns around, and leaves out of the still open door. Tyler mutters some obscenities under his breath as he walks over to the door and closes it. He turns back around and looks at me sympathetically. I'm still covering myself up with my shirt. I can't believe that just happened. "I'm so sorry about that." He walks over to me and hugs me.

"It's, uh, ok."

"No. No it's not. I'm going to have to set some new ground rules with my friends. They can't come barging in here any time they want anymore."

I sit down on the couch. I still feel flush from embarrassment. My heart is still racing from being turned on, then from being walked in on. I have a lot of different emotions going through me. "Ok, Ty."

"Are you ok?" He sits down next to me and wraps his arm around me.

"Yeah. I think so."

"As much as I was into that, it doesn't really seem right to continue. You're still shaken up."

"I'm sorry."

"Hey, no, there's no reason for you to be sorry. I'm sorry that it happened. I don't want you to ever feel uncomfortable in my house." He kisses my forehead. "Cuddling is good too." He lies back and I snuggle up to him, resting my head on his chest. His heart seems to be beating a bit faster than usual, probably for the same mix of reasons as mine. He traces circles around on the skin on my shoulder with his fingertips while we both begin to settle down. I close my eyes and he kisses my temple a few times before I fall asleep.


	12. I want you. Us. Me and you.

I'm nervous for today, and somewhat excited, but mostly nervous. Tyler and my dad will be meeting for the first time and I don't know how it's going to go. My dad has already made up his mind that he doesn't like Tyler all that much and I desperately want that to change. He's stubborn, though, and even if today goes perfectly it doesn't mean it will change my dad's mind. Tyler's not as nervous, he's never nervous. He's just going to be himself and whatever happens happens. That's what he tells me anyway.

I start to get ready to leave. Tyler should be here to pick me up soon. Of course I'm going to wear my brand new Prescott jersey that my dad gave me for my birthday. That actually sparked a little bit of controversy between my dad and I at the time. My usual game day jersey was my Jason Witten jersey, which I had worn the crap out of. The numbers were falling apart, the blue was fading, but I didn't care. I was almost offended that he suggested I wear anyone else. He didn't hesitate to remind me that before my beloved Witten jersey I had my Troy Aikman jersey that suffered the same fate. I look at my pathetic looking, disheveled Witten jersey that hangs in my closet and I know it's time for a new era. The Prescott era.

Grace is on my bed watching my get dressed, her usual thing. "One of these days I'm going to have to sneak you into a game, Gracie." Before we head to the stadium we are going to be dropping Grace off at Tyler's. I have off from work tomorrow and we have already planned for me to spend the night. "We gotta think positive thoughts. Tyler and Grandpa are meeting for the first time today." Her head perks up and she wags her tail happily. "I wonder which one you're wagging about." The doorbell rings and she jumps off the bed and runs out of the room. "There's Tyler now!" I yell out to her.

By the time I get to the door Tyler is already inside and petting Grace. He looks up at me with a smile. "The door was unlocked."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she taught herself how to open the door for you."

He looks at me for a few seconds. "No. That looks weird. Go put my jersey on."

"No way. Today is Cowboys day. Tomorrow is Stars day."

"I don't like seeing another guy's name on your back," he whines. It's cute, endearing even, the fact that he only wants to see me in his jersey.

"It's not even the same sport."

"I know." I walk over to him and kiss him. He smiles. "Ok. I guess I'll allow it."

"You don't have a choice." I grab my purse and Grace's leash. I already have some clothes, including my jersey for tomorrow's game, at Tyler's house. "Let's get going."

Once we drop Grace off at Tyler's we head off to AT&T Stadium. My dad and I have a usual meeting spot that we wait for each other at so Tyler and I go there once we park. My heart is pounding out of my chest with nerves. I really want this to go well and I know it really could go either way. There's the potential they will get along great but they could also butt heads. Tyler rubs his hand up and down my arm. He can probably sense my anxiety.

It looks like we beat my dad to our meeting spot so we wait until he gets to us. A few Stars fans recognize Tyler and ask him for pictures and he gladly obliges. It was just a few guys and they were pretty cool about it. They didn't make a scene or anything. It's still a little weird to me when someone recognizes him out in public. I just see him as Tyler, not a famous hockey player.

Tyler hugs me. "I'm looking forward to watching the game with you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I can't wait to see you in football Amy mode."

"Oh, ok." He kisses me quickly. I lean in to kiss him and he pulls away smiling. He kisses me again, then pulls away again before I can kiss him back, and giggles. "You're such a shit."

"Ok, ok. One more time."

He leans down slowly and kisses me. He pulls away laughing before I can kiss him back. "Tyylleerrrr," I whine.

"Oh. Did you want to kiss me?" he asks coyly.

"Not anymore," I mutter as I cross my arms over my chest to exaggerate my frustration.

"You're cute when you're mad. Hot, actually. Sexy."

"Keep going."

He smiles and his dimples make me melt, triggering an automatic smile of my own. "C'mere." He holds me by the chin and kisses me. I close my eyes to kiss him, expecting him to pull away again but he doesn't. He kisses me harder and deeper. We get cat called and cheered for as people walk passed us. Tyler smiles in the kiss and we finally pull apart. He rests his forehead against mine. "Beautiful."

"Thanks, Ty."

He hugs me and rests his chin on the top of my head. "Um. Shit. I think that's your dad walking towards us."

I turn my head to look over my shoulder. "Yeah, that's him." I let go of Tyler, turn to face my dad, and smile, my dad smiles back.

"He probably saw us kissing." He puts his hand over his face and rubs it over his beard a few times.

"Yeah, probably."

"Fuck."

"Why fuck? He knows I kiss. He knows I've had sex too."

"Oh god."

"Relax."

"Are you sure he's 6'5? He looks about 8 or 9 feet tall to me." The poor guy is in a panic. I thought he wasn't going to be nervous. I guess my dad can look intimidating, but he's harmless for the most part.

"Relax, take a deep breath, and just be yourself. Smile. Don't look so scared." My dad makes it to us. "Hi, dad." I hug him.

"I see you finally came to your senses and wore Dak."

"Really? That's the way you greet your daughter?" I say. Typical dad, giving me a hard time.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Dad, this is Tyler." I rub Tyler's back reassuringly to ease his nerves a bit

"Hi, sir, it's nice to meet you," Tyler says as he holds his hand out for my dad to shake it.

"Chuck, you can call me Chuck, or Charles. Not sir, not dad, Chuck."

"Or Charles," Tyler adds, probably hoping to get a smile out of my dad. He is unsuccessful.

"Your choice."

"Ease up on him, dad."

My dad finally shakes Tyler's hand. "It's nice to meet you too. Thanks for the tickets."

"You're welcome, any time."

Once we get in we are escorted to our suite. As we walk I feel important. My dad is like a little kid in a candy store, looking around and taking it all in. Tyler and I exchange smiles every so often. The Cowboys game was probably the best idea for their first meeting Tyler could have had. It has immediately put my dad in a good mood.

We get to the suite and my dad goes straight to the edge to look out onto the field while the features of the suite are explained to us. Food, drinks, everything is all included. The suite even has its own bathroom. I try to act cool, but I'm in awe myself. We are right on the 50 yard line. This has got to be the best view in the whole stadium.

"Go over there with your dad and I'll take a picture of you guys with the field behind you," Tyler says as he takes his phone out of his pocket.

I stand next to my dad and put my arm around him. "Picture time!"

My dad puts his arm around me and leans in. Tyler takes the picture and texts it to me right away. "Your turn," my dad says to Tyler. He walks over to him and takes his phone to take the picture. Tyler and I pose and my dad takes the picture. "Cute."

"Thanks, dad." Tyler texts me our picture too. "I'm gonna post these on Instagram. My two favorite guys."

My dad goes back to looking out at the field. He takes a bunch of pictures. Tyler wraps his arm around me and I lean into him. He kisses my temple. "You happy?" He asks.

"Of course. This is great. Thank you so much."

"I love making you happy." I look up at him and smile, he smiles back. He whispers in my ear, "I'm more nervous than I thought I would be."

"You're doing great. Don't worry," I whisper back. I kiss his cheek.

We all grab some food from the buffet that's set up at the back of the suite and take our seats in the front row. Tyler's in the middle. I thought my dad would sit next to me, but he doesn't, he takes the seat next to Tyler. Tyler glances over at me and I shrug. I am assuming this is when the interrogation starts. I knew it would be coming and I don't think my dad would want to have a serious conversation during the game. I am more nervous now that I know Tyler is nervous as well.

"So, Tyler, I've been wondering what exactly your intentions with Amy are. I know she has explained to me what she thinks is going on. I'd like to hear it from you." Of course he pulled the "intentions with my daughter" card.

"Um, well, I mean..." I can tell he's trying to come up with the perfect answer while also being truthful. "We are enjoying each other's company, I guess."

"You guess?"

"We are, definitely." Tyler takes his hat off, runs his fingers through his hair, takes a deep breath, and puts the hat back on his head.

"Is she the only person you're seeing?" my dad continues to question. I haven't even had the courage to ask him. I've been afraid of the answer.

Tyler looks at me, smiles, then back at my dad. "Yes she is." I breathe a sigh of relief. I didn't think he was seeing anyone else, but I wasn't one hundred percent sure either.

"Do you think one day you'll want something more serious?"

"One day, yeah, for sure."

"Do we have to do this right now? Right here?" I interject.

"Yeah, sweetie, we do," my dad replies.

"It's ok," Tyler says, "I don't mind. I get it. He's worried about you."

"He doesn't need to be." I look at my dad. "You don't need to be."

"You're my daughter. It's my job. I'm never going to stop worrying about you."

"He's a good guy, dad."

"I know he is."

"You do?"

"I do." He stands up. "I'm going to get another beer, y'all want any?" Tyler and I both shake our heads no. He goes to grab himself a beer.

Tyler kisses my temple. "See? Nothing to worry about," he says, his lips still pressed against my skin.

"It could have gone better," I whisper.

"There's plenty of time, don't worry."

"I just want him to like you. To see in you what I do."

"All I care about is what you think of me."

"Bullshit, you want him to like you too."

"I just don't want him to wrap his big ass hands around my neck. And I thought I had big hands." He smiles wide at me. I laugh and lean my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around my back and rubs his hand up and down. "It would be nice if he liked me, yes, but I'm good as long as you like me."

I look at him. "Yeah I guess I kinda like you."

He looks into my eyes and smiles. "Ok, good." He kisses the tip of my nose. "That's all that matters."

My dad comes back from getting his beer and takes his seat next to Tyler. I was hoping the questioning was over. "Thank you so much for these tickets, Tyler. I haven't thanked you and that was rude of me. It should have been the first thing out of my mouth."

"You're welcome. I'm glad we can all get together. My schedule isn't exactly the easiest to deal with. I know how much you both love the Cowboys, so there really wasn't any other option in my mind."

"You know how to score points with me."

Tyler nods. "Yeah." His cheeks and ears turn pink from blushing.

"That's not a bad thing." My dad smiles. "In all seriousness, though, you treat her right and we won't ever have a problem."

"Understood. I wouldn't dream of hurting her."

"That's what I like to hear."

Tyler and I take a collective deep breath and settle in for the start of the game. My dad does ask Tyler more questions but they're get to know you type questions. It's going well. They're getting along, laughing, enjoying the game. I can finally relax.

My dad and Tyler are spending a lot of time talking about family. Family is the most important thing to my dad and I know it's very important to Tyler too. My dad has a lot of questions about how Tyler has been away from home for so long and how he deals with he distance. It's something Tyler and I talk about often ourselves. He's especially close with his mom and sisters and sometimes feels guilty that he doesn't have a lot of time to spend with them, especially during the season, and specially since his sisters are getting older and have lives of their own. It's not as easy as it used to be for everyone to get together.

"The dad's trip is actually coming up soon," Tyler continues, "It's where our dads and mentors come on the road with us for a few games and get to live the life we live on the road. It's always a good time, I don't spend an awful lot of time with my dad so it's always special."

"I bet he loves it. That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Of course we'd always like more down time to really explore the cities we are in, but there's usually one day we all do something fun together."

"You take what you can get I suppose."

"For sure."

"I wish there were more trips like that. I know my mom wants a mom's trip so badly, and frankly the moms deserve it just as much as the dads, if not more. I'd also love to take my step-dad on a trip. He's really supportive of me, a hockey guy too, he'd appreciate it."

"It sounds like an experience every family member should experience, just to get an understanding of what you go through."

"They visit me on the road here and there, but yeah, it would be different to actually be on the plane with us, going to the practices and hotels and everything. Maybe one day there will be a mom's trip for our moms. Other teams have started to do it."

"It's refreshing to meet someone with good family values."

"I wouldn't be who I am today without them. I always have them with me, though." He rolls the sleeve of his shirt all the way up to his shoulder. "These are the birth years of my dad, mom, and sisters. The heart is because my dad always says I wear my heart on my sleeve, and the tree is for my family. My other arm has the street signs of the streets I grew up on and the CN Tower. My roots are very important to me. No matter how far from home I may be, I'm never that far because it's always with me."

"I've always wanted to get a tattoo, but could never decide on a design."

"It's never too late to get one."

"Like you, I'd want to get something to commemorate my family." My dad looks at me and smiles. "But nothing I've seen is perfect enough for her."

"Oh stop, dad, you're going to make me blush," I say as I cover my face.

"You just need to find the right artist."

"I haven't even looked in years. I gave up on the idea."

"It's probably best. They're awfully addictive."

"Maybe one day. As you said, it's never too late."

Tyler smiles. "That's right."

Dak gets sacked hard. I stand up and yell, "where's the defense? You gotta protect him better than that, boys. He's saving your asses out there, the least you can do is save his once in a while! UGH!" I sit back down in a huff. The next play Dak throws the ball way down field and it's caught and run in for a touchdown. I dart back up. "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! WOO!" I pump my fists in the air, cheer a little more, then sit back down.

"You get so fired up. I love it," Tyler gushes.

"Oh, you have no idea. This is subdued for her," my dad says.

"Dad, don't."

"He should know how crazy you get," my dad says as he smiles.

Tyler raises his eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

"I'm sure she can be heard all the way on the field when we are here and we usually sit up there." My dad points to our usual nosebleed seats.

"She's passionate. That's a good thing. Maybe she will cheer that loudly for me."

"She probably does."

"She is sitting right here, you know," I chime in.

"Do you cheer for me like that?" Tyler asks as he pivots to look at me.

"I am a little offended you don't hear me out there. I do yell pretty loud for you."

He laughs. "I'll listen closer next time, promise." He kisses me and pulls away smiling.

"I have yet to go to a game," my dad says.

"You should go tomorrow," Tyler suggests.

"I can't. I have a game of my own tomorrow."

"I'll get you to a game, dad, don't worry."

Tyler gets up to get more food and drinks for the both of us. Once he is out of earshot I look over the empty seat next to me to my dad. "Please tell me you like him."

"He's a good kid. I like him."

 

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

"He doesn't seem like the guy they make him out to be."

"Some of that stuff is true, most of it isn't. I've told him before I don't care what he's done in the past. All I care about is how he treats me now. People can change."

"It's good to see you happy again. I like what I see so far. As long as you're happy with the situation..."

"I am."

"Ok, then he has my blessing."

"Thank you, dad." I hug him. It is such a relief that my dad can see past the rumors and gossip and see Tyler for who he really is. What started out looking like it was going to be a bit of a disaster has turned into something great. I don't have to worry anymore.

Tyler comes back and sits down in between us after handing me a beer and my plate of food. "I shouldn't be eating too much of this."

"You're skinny enough," I say as I pat his stomach a few times, "you'll work it off."

"You're supposed to stuff your face on Thanksgiving," my dad adds.

"I suppose you're right," Tyler replies.

The Cowboys get the ball back and wind up on the 20 yard line. Dak sets up to make a pass but no one is open. He decides to run the ball and winds up juking around a defenseman and scores a touchdown. I shoot up out of my seat. "YES! That's the way to do it, baby! If they're not going to help you, you gotta help yourself. MY MAN!"

Tyler looks up at me. "Baby? Your man? I don't think so."

"You know I don't mean it like that." I sit down and kiss him.

He smiles. "I know."

"You know he scored that because you decided to finally wear his jersey. I was right, as always," my dad boasts.

"Oh please," I scoff.

"You're going to have to wear it from now on. It's bringing him luck."

"You athletes and your superstitions," I say, shaking my head.

"I don't have superstitions. I have a routine, sure, but no superstitions," Tyler says.

"I'm definitely guilty of having them."

"Dad has worn the same beat up hat for all of his games that he's coached. It's kind of disgusting actually."

"There are guys in hockey that wear the same shirt or same equipment. Anything that helps."

"Ew. Now I'm grossed out," I say with a disgusted snarl.

My dad and Tyler both chuckle at my misery. I roll my eyes at them. Great, now they're ganging up on me. Tyler gets a text and looks at his phone. "Chad wants to know if he can borrow the Rolls to impress a girl. Do you think I should let him?"

"You have a Rolls? As in Rolls Royce?" my dad asks.

"I don't think that's smart. She's going to eventually find out it's not his car," I say.

"Wait, wait, wait. A real Rolls Royce?" my dad continues.

"Yeah that's just one of my cars."

"What? How many cars do you have?"

"I have the Rolls, my Ferrari, an Audi, a Bentley, a Jeep, and a G Wagen."

"Such a show off," I tease.

"Forget my daughter, date me instead."

"Oh my god," I say as I bury my face in my hands, embarrassed.

"Sorry, Chuck, you're not my type."

"My cue to crawl under a rock and never come out. I hate both of you right now," I complain.

"No you don't," they both say in unison. They look at each other and crack up laughing.

I roll my eyes. "Just great."

"You wanted us to get along," Tyler says.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I wanted you to fall in love with each other."

"Relax, I'm all about the ladies."

"Gross, dad. Don't ever say that again." Tyler giggles. I glare at him. "And you, don't encourage him."

"I'll have to take you out for a ride in the Rolls, Chuck. We could go downtown and look for hotties." Tyler looks at me and giggles. I smack him on the chest, which makes him laugh harder. 

"I'll take the ride in the car definitely. Ok and the hotties." I look at my dad in disgust and he smiles. "I'm kidding, sweetheart."

"Why must you be so embarrassing?" I sulk.

"It's been a while since I've gotten to embarrass you in front of a new guy. Let me have my fun."

"Yeah, Amy, let him have his fun."

"Ugh, the two of you." Tyler giggles. "And, dad, why do you have to point out that it's been a while?"

"Well it has."

"I'm not complaining about that," Tyler says.

The Cowboys have a great rest of the game and wind up winning. I stand up and scream my head off for them. Tyler stands up with me and puts his arm around me. I lean my head on his shoulder. "This has been so amazing, Ty, thank you so much."

"What would you say if I told you it's going to get even more amazing?"

I look at him. "How is that even possible?"

"Have you ever been down on the field?" he asks.

"Only in my dreams."

"Would you like to?" he continues.

"Well of course I would, but that's like impossible."

Tyler motions his head towards the door and I look. A man stands there, an official looking man. He has a suit on, pass around his neck, Cowboys pin on his lapel, and a walkie talkie clipped to his pants. "Is everyone ready to go?" the man asks.

I whip my head back around to Tyler. "Are you serious?"

"Uh huh," he replies with a smile.

"Wait are you telling me we are about to go on the field? You're saying we're going down there?" my dad asks and points to the field.

"Yeah. Let's get going."

My dad follows behind the guy. Tyler and I follow behind them. "I can't believe this," I whisper to him.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. I knew you'd be just as excited as him."

"Thank you so much, Tyler."

He puts his arm around me and pulls me towards him. "You're very welcome." He kisses my temple.

Once we get to the field the Cowboys staffer leaves us. My dad has stopped in his tracks and is looking all around. I think he's in shock that we are actually here. This is pretty surreal for me too. I can't help snapping a picture of my dad in awe, there isn't much in life that could leave him speechless. There isn't much in life that he loves more than football and the Cowboys.

I walk over to him and wrap my arm around him. "Amazing, right?"

He looks at me and smiles. "I actually feel small out here."

"There's a first time for everything, eh, dad?"

"You turning Canadian now?" He teases me as he nudges me in the ribs with his elbow.

I giggle from it tickling me. "I guess so."

"Speaking of Canadian, where is he?"

We look around to find where Tyler is. He's behind us taking pictures of us. "Oh we've been spotted by paparazzi."

My dad waves Tyler over. "Get on over here."

Tyler makes his way over to us. "This is all for you two. I'm enjoying watching you."

"I want to take a picture of the two of you down here," my dad says.

"Why don't we go to the fifty yard line?" Tyler suggests. "That's where everyone usually takes pictures. Right on the logo."

The three of us walk over and wait until it's our turn to take pictures. We take so many when it's our turn. Solo pictures, I take some with Tyler, and I take some with my dad.

We are about to walk away when my dad gets someone's attention. "Can you take a picture of all three of us?" He asks. "I need a family picture." Tyler and I exchange smiles. He just called us a family. That's huge. I get in the middle and we take a few pictures.

Once we are done with our little photo shoot we walk around the field and my dad tells us stories of when he used to play. Tyler takes my hand in his and we intertwine fingers while we continue to walk with my dad and listen to him talk. He brings our hands to his lips and kisses the back of my hand softly and smiles at me. This day started off rocky but has ended on such a strong note. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. My dad is in his glory and he seems to really like Tyler.

We get to the end zone and our time on the field is coming to an end. Everyone is starting to dwindle out of the stadium. They make an announcement that it's time to leave. We take a few last minute pictures in the end zone before starting to make our way to the tunnel to leave. Once we get off the field my dad stops and hugs Tyler. Tyler's eyes go wide with surprise and looks to me, I shrug my shoulders. I'm not quite sure what's going on. "You have no idea how much this means to me. Really. I thought I'd never....thank you, son." He pats Tyler on the back a few times but continues to embrace him.

"You're very welcome, Chuck," Tyler says, and gives my dad's back a few Pat's as well.

My dad finally lets go and continues to walk through the tunnel. Tyler wraps his arm around my back and we follow behind. "He called me son." All I can see is Tyler's dimples when I look at him. He must be beaming.

"You made his dream come true. I can't believe he hugged you."

"I know. And for a long time too."

"I think it's safe to say he likes you."

He looks and me still smiling. "Yeah. That's a relief."

We are escorted out of the stadium and we start making the track to our cars. My dad walks us to Tyler's car since he parked further away. We say our goodbyes and my dad thanks Tyler a few more times before tearing himself away and going to his car. It has been so good to see my dad so happy. I've almost forgotten that this has been a dream come true for me as well. Every day with Tyler is like a dream come true, though.

We get back to the house and are greeted by four very excited labs. We immediately take them out to the yard so they can go potty. Tyler gets food ready for them while I change out of my jersey and jeans and into something more comfortable. I plop down on the couch and Grace jumps up and curls up next to me, resting her chin on my thigh. She looks up at me as to say I've missed you, mommy. I kiss her nose and massage her ears, one of her favorite things.

Tyler and the boys join us and he smiles when he sees me and Grace already snuggled up on the couch. "I'm going to change real quick. Hopefully I'll have a spot to sit next to you when I get back."

"I'll make sure of it."

I turn the TV on and the rest of the dogs start to find their spots to settle into for the night. Tyler comes back and he's only wearing his grey sweatpants, one of my favorite articles of clothing he owns. He wears them so well and it makes him look extra snuggly. He takes the spot next to me and I snuggle up to him. He picks up the remote off of the coffee table and turns the TV off. I look up at him with confusion. "Everything ok?" I ask.

"I wanted to apologize for how I reacted when your dad asked me about us."

"It's ok."

"No it's not. I panicked, but I still should have told him. I know how I feel and that I know what I want. I do admit that it scares me. I've never felt this way or wanted this before."

"What is it that you want?"

"I want you. Us. Me and you. I want it all."

I smile. "I want that too." I can't believe he said that. It's been such a long time coming. Hearing those words from him have made me happier than I thought they would. I've been waiting to hear them since the moment we met.

"But before that I need to lay it all out there and tell you everything. I don't know how you're going to react, but you need to know. Then hopefully you'll still want to be with me because I want nothing more than to be with you."

"Ok, Ty. I'm ready to hear it."

"I really hope so because it's a lot."

"There's no turning back now."

"I'm not. I'm going to be open and brutally honest with you. I want you to know everything so you can make the right decision for yourself. I care way too much about you for you to continuing going on not knowing about every side of me."

"As long as you didn't murder someone I think I'll be ok."

"It's important that you know."

"Then quit stalling and tell me already." I smile to show him I'm not serious.

He smiles back. "I'm getting there. This isn't easy for me."

"Take your time, Tyler. There's no pressure."

"Yes there is. This is one of the most important moments of my life. It could mean losing you."

"I already have an idea of what you're going to tell me and you're not going to lose me, I promise you." I have to admit the lead up to whatever he's about to say has me a little anxious. It has to be pretty bad for him to spend this much time trying to explain himself before he has even said anything.

"I really hope not." He rubs his hand over his beard then runs his fingers through his hair and takes a deep breath. "I guess I should start off by saying I'm selfish. I want what I want when I want it no matter what effect is has on anyone else. Before I met you I was having a lot of casual sex. Some of it arranged as a friends with benefits thing, some just would happen, some were one time arrangements. It's not like I would tell them one thing and do another. They all knew I wasn't looking for anything serious, like I told you when this started. This way I'd be able to sleep with whoever I wanted without consequences. Without hurting anyone." He pauses. "Let me just tell you right now that it's different with you. I haven't been with anyone else since the day I met you. I hope you trust me on that."

"I do."

"All of that sleeping around can get messy. People can develop feelings. People can change. I'm talking about them. Not all of them, of course, but I guess it's harder for girls to set feelings aside than guys. I don't know. I've had issues with them getting clingy and jealous and I just don't have the time or the patience to deal with that kind of drama. I have a lot of friends that are girls that are just friends. I guess that's hard for some to handle. I've never had to ask someone to trust me before, because it didn't matter, but I'm asking you to trust me no matter what. You're the only one I want to be with. I've never ever said those words before. It kinda scares the shit out of me. I hope that you can handle who I'm friends with and know that at the end of the day there's no one I'd rather have in my bed than you. That includes the dogs. That's how much I like you."

"I like going out to the bar or club and drinking with my buddies. I like to party. It's kinda been a problem in the past. Usually when I drink, I drink a lot. I'm not saying I don't have self control, I'm just saying I usually don't want to control it. It's the reason I'm here in Dallas, so they say. Too much partying. I always say it didn't affect my job and how I played, but I think maybe I was just in denial. I could have been better. Sometimes I go out with just the guys and sometimes it's more of a group thing. I will leave it up to you if you ever want to come with me, though. I'd never tell you you couldn't come. I know you haven't really seen that side of me yet, but it's there, and I don't want it to be a surprise. I can be kind of an asshole when I drink. I can be kind of be an asshole when I'm sober too, actually. I think since meeting you I've changed a bit, but I'm still that guy too. I just don't want you to think I'm something I'm not. I keep telling you I'm not that great of a guy because I'm really not." I roll my eyes at that. He still doesn't give himself credit for all of the other great qualities he has. "Shut up, it's true." He smiles.

"I like to have a good time. That could mean going out or having a party at my house, or taking a trip somewhere, or having a lazy weekend on the couch, or having a relaxing weekend at my lake house. Usually I'm doing these things solo. This thing you and I have, it's new to me. I'm sure I'm going to screw up somewhere down the line. You have my permission to smack me if I get too out of hand or if I do something stupid or say something stupid. It's probably going to happen. I guess I'm asking you to have patience with me. Oh and I'm also asking you, after all of that, if you would like to be my girlfriend. Let's finally make it official, put a label on it, be a couple."

"Nobody's perfect, Tyler. We have all done things in our past that we aren't proud of. The fact that you're aware of them, acknowledge them, and learn from them, that says something. It tells me that even though you may be changing and you're scared of that change, that you're still willing to change. You have given me no reason not to trust you. You have treated me better than I have ever been treated in a relationship before. As long as you continue to treat me with respect, I can accept that even Tyler Seguin has flaws. I would love to be your girlfriend." He smiles from ear to ear, the biggest smile I have ever seen. I smile an equally big smile. What a relief. We are finally boyfriend and girlfriend. There are no more unknowns and worries about where this is going. I finally know. I couldn't be happier. He takes my face in his hands and tenderly kisses me. We pull apart, still smiling. "Just so you know, I would have smacked you without invitation if I ever saw you being an asshole."

He laughs. "Good to know. Sometimes I need to be put in my place."

"I am well aware."

"Oh are you?"

I giggle. "Mhmm."

He hugs me and nuzzles his face into my neck. "Thanks for being patient and giving me a chance. I love what we have."

I stroke his hair and hug him with my other arm. "I do too."

He looks at his watch. "We should probably head to bed. I should actually be awake for morning skate."

Once we settle in bed a few of the dogs join us, but stay at the foot of the bed at our feet. I rest my head on Tyler's chest and his hands are immediately in my hair. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of his heart beating. I can't believe he asked me to be his girlfriend. I'm actually excited about it. I'm not scared, not even after everything he said. I'm actually allowing myself to get out there again, I'm giving myself the chance to be happy again.

"I wasn't really planning on asking you tonight," he says after a few minutes of silence. I keep my eyes closed but continue to listen to him. "I was going to ask you eventually. I've been scared to. Not scared of you saying no, or scared of making a commitment, or scared of changing. I was scared of letting you down, of screwing up, of possibly hurting you. Your dad asked me what it is I want and in my head I said all I want is her, but I couldn't say it out loud, I don't know why. I thought all game about it and decided that it's finally time. Plus, now everyone can stop asking us." His chest shakes with silent laughter.

"I really appreciate you putting yourself out there, Ty, that took guts."

"It's something I should have done in the beginning."

"Don't worry about it. I don't think you realize how happy you make me." I open my eyes and look up at him. My eyes immediately meet his. He's been watching me the whole time. I smile. He kisses me and I get lost in it. I could kiss him all night. He rests his head on mine. "Today has been so amazing. I can't thank you enough."

"You already have. You said yes."


	13. Boyfriend duty at big Chuck's game

Today is going to be somewhat of an eventful day. My dad's football team is in the playoffs and he asked for me and Tyler to be there to support them. I haven't been to as many games as I usually go to so I am more than happy to go. I'm very much looking forward to it. I love watching high school football, and I especially like watching my dad coach. After the game we are going to be going out with some of Tyler's friends. I haven't met them yet so I'm a little nervous. I want to make a good impression.

High school football has always been a big part of my life. My dad's been coaching since before I could remember. Since he's a single dad he would have to bring me along to the games. I grew up around it. Sometimes I would be by the bench, but that could get dangerous, so a lot of the time I would hang out with the cheerleading coach. I guess she had no problems keeping an eye on me.

Tyler had practice today and we've been hanging out around his house since he got home. It's been a very relaxing, lazy day. Perfect really. It's going to be a pretty chilly Texas evening so I made sure I brought a blanket with me to keep us warm. I pull my Richland Rebels hoodie out of my bag and put it on. Of course I have to represent.

"Got anything else in that bag?" Tyler teases as he watches me, sitting on the edge of the bed. I've been emptying out the contents onto his bed, trying to look for what I need for the game.

"I should have brought a muzzle for your mouth," I retort.

He smiles and grabs me by the hips and pulls me in between his legs. "Then how would I kiss you?" He pulls my head down to him and kisses me.

I smile. "You do make a good point. I do have something in the bag for you, though."

I reach over him to pull the bag closer to me and he rubs his hands up and down the sides of my body. "Is it you naked? Because that's all I want."

"Mmm down, boy. No it's not. You got me naked earlier anyway."

"I didn't know there's a daily limit."

"There's not. Don't worry." He smiles. I pull out another Richland Rebels hoodie and drape it over his head. "My dad wanted you to have this and wear it for the game."

He grabs it, pulls it off of his head, and looks it over. "Wow thanks, Chuck. Feels nice and soft too."

"It's very comfy and will keep you nice and warm during the game."

"You look extremely adorable in yours and it's really great that you support your dad like this."

"I've been going to his games my whole life. I love it. I know he loves that I am still interested too." He lets go of me and I sit next to him. "We should get going so we don't hit traffic."

"One sec." He puts his hoodie on and takes his phone out. "Let's selfie." I lean into him and rest my head against his, we both smile, and he takes the selfie. "Shit, I should Snapchat this. One more time." He opens Snapchat and we take a very similar selfie. "Twinning or twinsies?"

"Hmmm. Twinsies. Although I do like twinning too."

"You're no help," he says as he nudges me.

"Twinsies, like your commercial."

He shakes his head. "I hate that you saw that thing."

"Why? You're so cute! Twinsies!"

"It's not cute." He types something in and sends the snap off. "But I used twinsies anyway since you're so amused."

"Adorable. Twinsies!" I love bringing it up because it annoys him so much. He hates that they made him say twinsies, especially in that tone, but no matter how much he begged them they wouldn't change it to anything else. I think it's adorable and so Tyler. He thinks he's a tough bad boy but he really isn't.

"Now you're gonna get it." He pushes me down on the bed and starts tickling me. I try to squirm away as I am uncontrollably laughing. "Oh I don't think so." He grabs me to stop me from getting further and pulls me back towards him.

"Tyler, no!" I cry out as he continues to tickle me. "I can't breathe!"

"Who's cute?" he asks as he climbs over top of me.

"YOU!"

"Wrong answer!" He pins my arms down with one hand and tickles me with the other. I can't move and I think I may die from laughing too hard. He laughs as he continues to torture me and I am hysterical. I try to move my legs to either tickle him with my toes or at least get him in an uncomfortable spot to get him to stop. He sits back on my thighs and I am immobilized. He's giggling just as much as I am, enjoying himself way too much.

"I can't breathe, Ty, stop!" I really am having a hard time catching my breath at this point and I don't want to pee my pants. He knows I'm incredibly ticklish and he has an unfair advantage.

"Ok, ok." Our laughs taper off and the sounds of our heavy breathing is the only thing that can be heard. He hovers over me with a smile on his face and looks into my eyes. I smile and look back into his. "I, um..." He leans down and kisses me. "We should go." He gets off of me and helps me sit up by pulling me by my hands.

"I'm sure I have to do my hair again," I complain as I run my fingers through my hair, making sure it's not too messed up.

"You look perfect." He grabs the folded blanket from the bed. "Is there anything else we are taking?"

"Nope, that's all we need."

Once we get to the field we head to the bleachers to make sure we get a good seat. The bleachers are filling up fast and I have a usual spot I sit in no matter where the games are. Tyler's been making fun of me for being just as superstitious as my dad. He takes the blanket and drapes it around my shoulders and closes it in front of me. "Gonna get some snacks. What do you want?"

"Just hot chocolate. I don't like the food here."

"We are going out tonight, you should eat something."

"I don't want anything from here. Just the hot chocolate is fine. You should have one too, it's really good."

"Ok. I'll be right back."

He goes off to get his snacks and my hot chocolate. I take my phone out and take a picture of the empty field for Snapchat. 'The calm before the storm' I write on the picture and post it. I send my dad a good luck text, probably the fifth one I've sent today. I'm nervous, probably way more nervous than he is.

Tyler comes back and sits down next to me as close as he can. I wrap one side of the blanket around him so we can both be warm under the blanket. He hands me my hot chocolate and I carefully place it down on the floor in front of me. I know from past experience that it's too hot to drink right away. I inform Tyler so he doesn't burn his tongue off.

"I got you this too," he says as he hands me a hotdog.

"Ew, Tyler, no. I don't want it," I whine.

"I don't wanna hear it. Eat the damn thing. You need something in your stomach."

"Fine." I start to bring the hotdog to my mouth and I notice he has taken his phone out of his pocket. He holds it up as I go to take a bite and I glare at him out of the corner of my eye. He laughs. I pull the hotdog away from my mouth "Are you filming me?"

"Maybe," he says with a big, dopey smile on his face. I roll my eyes and take my first bite. "Best two fifty I ever spent." I smack him on the arm and he laughs harder. He must be on Snapchat because he taps the screen real quick before holding it back up in my direction.

"Are you sure you wanna show them what I can do with a piece of meat in my mouth?" I ask before taking the other side of the hotdog a little out of the bun with my lips. I roll my tongue over the tip of it, then lick up the side, as if I was giving the hotdog a blowjob.

"Oh, don't do that."

"You sure? You've never said that before." I take the hotdog in my mouth a little, then further and further and further.

"Ok! I'll stop. Damn." I smile proudly to myself and take another bite out of it. He leans in and whispers, "you're going to have to take care of me later."

"I'll think about it," I say into his ear, then kiss his cheek. His double dimples form under my lips as he smiles. "How much of that did you put on Snapchat?"

"All of it. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, I don't care. We were just goofing around."

"You are awesome."

"I'm not uptight. It's all in good fun."

He smiles. "Yeah, I know. One of the many great things I like about you."

I notice the teams starting to line up. "They're going to come out soon. Grab your hot chocolate so it doesn't get kicked over." I pick up mine and Tyler does the same. "It should be ready to drink soon."

We stand up as the Rebels get set to take the field. Both Tyler and I get our phones out to get ready to video them running out. I love how into this he is. He doesn't have to be. All I asked was for him to be here with me but he's been all in and it makes me so happy. This is such an important thing to my dad and I and Tyler has made it important to him too. I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend.

As they run out onto the field Tyler and I both film it for Snapchat, phone in one hand and hot chocolate in the other. I cheer loudly, mostly for my dad, but I do know some of the kids on the team quite well since they have been playing for my dad for years now. I'm so proud they have gotten to this point. It's the first time in my dad's coaching career that he's gotten this far in the playoffs. He has a special team and I have no doubts they will go far.

We sit back down and Tyler repositions the blanket back around our backs. He links his free arm with mine and takes a sip of his hot chocolate. "Wow, that is good," he says before taking another sip.

"I told you. I love it. I crave it sometimes."

"Are you cold? You're shaking."

"Nervous."

He wraps his arm around me and rubs my back. "I love how much you support him. You make it just as important to you than it is to him. My family is the same way about me."

"You're just as important to me too, you know. I get just as nervous when I watch you play."

"Sometimes I wish I could see you rooting for me out there."

"I'm always on the edge of my seat when you're on the ice and when you score or set up a play or do anything amazing I cheer for you, very loudly." He smiles and kisses my cheek.

At one point I catch Tyler taking video of my dad on the sidelines. He adds the caption 'boyfriend duty at big Chuck's game. Go Rebels' and sends it off to Snapchat. He loves to bring up the fact that he's my boyfriend or that I'm his girlfriend. He hasn't posted anything public to Instagram yet, but all of his friends and family on Snapchat know. We feel it's better for us, for now, to keep it private.

By the end of the first quarter the Rebels are trailing, but they aren't out of it. There's a lot of game left to play. They do look a bit frazzled out there, though. My dad takes a few of the seniors aside and starts laying into them. I can't quite make out what he's saying but I can imagine he's telling them to get their heads in the game and be leaders for the rest of the team. He's yelling and in their face, pumping them up.

Tyler looks at me. "And you tell me I have nothing to be scared of. That was terrifying."

"Those boys can handle it. It's what they need sometimes."

""I didn't know he had that in him. He's usually so reserved."

"He only brings it out when he needs to."

"Has he ever brought it out to you?"

"No. I was always a good girl."

"I don't believe that at all."

"For the most part."

"Ha. Not even close."

"As far as he knows I am an angel."

"Your horns must be hiding your halo."

I push into him with my shoulder. "Oh shut up." He laughs, leans in to kiss me, and I melt into him.

As we approach halftime the Rebels are still trailing, but they're only a touchdown away from tying up the game. They've been playing better than they were in the first quarter. I have no doubts that they can pull themselves together and take the lead. I've certainly seen them come back from worse.

The teams leave the field for halftime and a lot of people get up from their seats to stretch their legs or to get something to eat or drink. Tyler and I stay put. I am pretty warm and comfortable under our blanket and I really don't need another hotdog. Tyler takes his phone out and messes around on it. He checks his texts and social media, the usual phone routine. I have a few texts from Faith, especially about Tyler's snaps of me.

"Faith is amused by my hotdog show."

He smiles. "Everyone seems to be getting a kick out of it. You're getting compliments from all over."

"I'm glad they like it I guess."

"Candace is horrified. She wants me to delete it. I want everyone to see how lucky I am, though." He laughs.

"She's not going to want to meet me after that."

"Yeah she will. She probably thinks I put you up to it, but we know that's all you. I won't tell her, though."

"You are just the greatest," I say sarcastically.

He scrunches his nose. "I know."

"It's a good thing you're modest." Continuing my sarcasm.

"So modest."

I rest my head on his shoulder and link arms with him. "I'm so glad you came with me. I hope you're having a good time."

"Are you kidding? This is the best. I'm having a great time."

They announce that the band is going to perform. I'm actually looking forward to hearing the band. They're very talented. Tyler goes back to looking at his phone. My attention is on the field.

The band marches out and gets into formation. As soon as they start playing Tyler looks up from his phone. I think he's surprised that they're playing a song he actually knows. He starts out by just bobbing his head to the music but as the performance goes on he gets more and more into it. He starts to dance in his seat. I take my phone out and film him on Snapchat. I'm not the only one who's getting embarrassed today.

He finally notices me filming him and he sheepishly smiles and looks down. "Busted."

"So busted," I say as I post the video to my story.

"Do you have to post that?"

"Yes I do. Payback, babe."

He smiles. "Ok, that's fair."

When they come back from the locker room for the third quarter I can immediately a change in attitude by the team just by looking at their body language. My dad must have done one of his famous motivational speeches. There is a new intensity, a new focus. They're playing so much better than earlier in the game. Whatever they're doing starts to work and they score a touchdown. Tie game. There's no stopping them now.

As the fourth quarter starts, the Rebels are ahead, and my nerves are starting to get to me. My heart is racing. My leg bounces up and down uncontrollably. I can't sit still. I want this for my dad so badly, for those boys who have worked so hard all season to get to this point. Tyler puts his hand on my knee and my bouncing leg slows down and eventually stops. I look at him and smile. "Sorry, I'm nervous."

"I know. It's ok. They're playing their hearts out, that's all you can ask for."

"They're so close. Just 12 minutes to go. They can do this."

He kisses my temple and his lips linger. I take a deep, calming breath. "They're lucky to have you rooting for them."

"Thanks, Ty."

As the minutes tick down it becomes harder and harder for me to stay in my seat. The crowd slowly starts to stand and once the people in front of us stand, we follow suit. It's happening, it's really happening. The Rebels have pulled ahead enough that there's no way the other team could come back at this point. We all start to cheer as the final seconds tick down. The Rebels win! They're advancing to the semi finals. I could not be more proud of my dad and his team.

My dad immediately walks over to one of his star players, one of the seniors he was yelling at earlier in the game, and wraps his arm around his shoulders. He says something to him then rubs his head a bit. The boy laughs and smiles. My dad hugs him.

"Sometimes tough love is what these guys need. See, in the end he loves his guys," I say, "he's not so scary now, right?"

"I guess not."

My dad spots us and waves us over. "He wants us to go out there."

"Ok. Let's go."

We make our way down the bleachers and to the fence. We open the door to the fence to get onto the field and close it behind us. We walk over to my dad, who is talking with a few of the players on the team, he smiles when he sees us. He reaches his arms out to me for a hug and I hug him as he closes his arms around me. "Congratulations, dad."

"Thanks, sweetie."

"They did amazing out there, Chuck," Tyler says as he shakes hands with my dad around me.

"Yeah, they're a great group of boys. You look great in that hoodie."

Tyler looks down at himself and back up. "Yeah, thanks."

"The boys are all happy you're here, Amy," my dad informs me. "I'm going to go talk to some of the parents." He walks away. It's a tradition that after every game all of the families come onto the field, wherever the game might be, so my dad can address everyone as one. His team, their families, they're my dad's family too. He loves to keep them involved when he can.

Tyler looks at me with his eyebrows raised. "They're happy you're here?"

"Some of them may have little crushes on me. It's not a big deal."

"That's cute." My dad calls Tyler's name and waves him over to where he's standing. "I guess he needs me. Am I going to have to bat these guys off with a stick?"

I put my hand on his chest and pull his head down to kiss him. "You have nothing to worry about. They're kids."

"They're horny teenagers and you're hot."

"I can handle it. You don't want to make my dad wait too long."

"Be right back." He gives me a quick peck on the lips before starting to make his way over to my dad.

I watch them talk for a few seconds before I feel eyes on me and I turn around. A few of the guys on the team I know are standing there watching me. "Hey guys, great game."

I'm showered with thank yous. There are three of them. They are standing before me, holding onto the front of their shoulder pads with both hands, looking a little nervous. They nudge one of the guys and he clears his throat. "Um, is that your boyfriend?" He awkwardly asks.

"The one with my dad? Yeah."

"So you're dating Tyler Seguin."

"I am."

"That is so cool. We were kinda wondering if maybe..." he leans over to one of the guys and whispers something I can't hear. The guy rolls his eyes and whispers something back. "Fine. Fine! We were wondering if you could get us autographs maybe."

"Do you want me to call him over?" I ask as I watch the three of them squirm uncomfortably.

"No! I mean, no. He's talking with coach. We don't want to interrupt. Maybe later?"

"Of course."

"Ok, cool. Thanks, Amy." He looks to his teammates. "Come on, guys." They nod in agreement and walk away.

I look over to where my dad and Tyler are, partially to make sure that Tyler is ok. I don't really have anything to worry about. My dad loves Tyler. We've all hung out a few times since Thanksgiving and each time they've both felt more and more comfortable around each other. It looks like my dad is introducing Tyler to the other coaches. I'm broken out of my stare by the sound of someone clearing their throat. I look towards the noise.

"So that's the reason you haven't been at as many games as you use to," Jared, one of my dad's star players says. He probably has the biggest crush on me out of all of them, and he isn't afraid to let me know. He's cocky and confident. The typical star high school athlete.

"Part of the reason."

"You know, I'm turning eighteen in two months."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. Then you could ditch that guy and get with a real man."

I can't stop myself from laughing. I shouldn't laugh at him. He's just a kid. But to suggest that Tyler is anything other than a man is just ridiculous. "Are you sure you want to endure the wrath of my dad?"

He leans and says in a hushed tone, "coach doesn't have to know."

"It's a flattering offer, Jared, but I'm very happy with Tyler."

"A hockey player, though? You know football is better."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it, really."

"I'm young. I could go all night."

"Don't start. You could get me in trouble, talking to me like that."

"It's true. I'm just saying."

"You don't have a girlfriend? You're the best guy on the team. They're not falling at your feet?"

"They do, but I don't want those girls."

"Don't say it."

"I want a woman."

"You think you're smooth, but..."

"You're blushing. I'm wearing you down."

"It's cold out. And you should date someone your age."

"If anything I'll wait until I get into college and go for a senior. Until then I'm keeping my options open. Hey, if I don't get a girl by prom do you want to go with me? Make me the luckiest guy there?"

"Sorry, Jared, no."

"I'd be eighteen by then. It wouldn't be wrong."

"Yes it would. First of all I have a boyfriend."

"You think you'll still be with him then?"

"Yes I do."

He rolls his eyes. "Fine. I dream about you, you know."

"I will walk away. I'll tell your mom about how you talk to me."

"Please don't. I'll shut up. Don't tell my mom," he pleads

I notice a girl who is still in the stands watching us. She's pretty. I bet she has a crush on him. "What about her?" I ask as I subtly show him who I'm talking about.

"She likes me."

"And you don't like her?"

"She's a sophomore and I'm graduating."

"Oh, so you do like her."

"Yeah, I guess. She just moved here. It's too late."

"Not too late to ask her to prom. I bet you'd still be the luckiest guy there. Look at how she looks at you. She thinks the world of you."

"I don't want to hurt her, though. I'm going to college out of state. I got my scholarship all lined up and everything."

"Wow. I'm surprised."

"I know I'm a pervert but my momma taught me right. I can be a nice guy when I want to be."

"Don't you think any time with her would be better than no time with her?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"I think you'll regret it if you don't take a chance but I get it."

"I'll think about it. Thanks for talking to me. Sorry I'm a jerk sometimes."

"You can't help it. You've got those hormones raging inside of you."

He smiles and laughs. "Yeah. Can I hug you?"

"Yeah. Ok." He hugs me and I immediately regret it. He's gross and sweaty and I know I'm probably going to smell like him for the rest of the time we're here.

"Thanks." He pulls away. "I should go talk to my mom. And it looks like I just pissed off Tyler Seguin. Oops." I look over and Tyler and my dad are watching us. My dad laughs and Tyler just shakes his head. They both know Jared is harmless. I only have eyes for one athlete and that's my hockey player.

He walks away and I take my hoodie off. That's going to have to go right into the laundry. A chill in the air sends shivers down my spine. Tyler walks over, still holding onto my blanket, he wraps it around me. "You took your hoodie off. It's too cold for that."

"It now smells like teenage boy. I may have to burn it."

"Chuck isn't going to like that."

"I have a few others at home."

"Do I have something to worry about? Was he trying to steal my girl?"

"He's been trying for 4 years."

"That little shit."

"You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I know."

I chuckle. "I'm not sure who would win in an ego contest between the two of you."

"Me of course," he boasts proudly, "I've had mine longer." He smiles from ear to ear. He knows he's ridiculous.

"You're too much." He hugs me. I lean my head on his shoulder. "There are a few guys that asked me if you'd sign things for them. I wasn't sure if that was ok, but I figured I'd ask. I know that we are out and normally I wouldn't..."

"It's ok. Your dad already asked me if it was ok to take a picture with the team. I don't have a problem signing some autographs."

"Thanks, Ty, you're the best."

"I'd do anything for you and your family." I look up at him and into his eyes, they have a sparkle in them from the reflections from the bright field lights. I smile. "Don't look at me like that or we'll have to duck out early."

"I can't help it."

"Then I won't be able to help myself from kissing you."

"I'm not asking you to."

He licks his bottom lip before leaning in to kiss me. I stay wrapped up in the blanket, and his arms, as we kiss under the lights. We kiss like we are the only two people on the field. We kiss like we are the only two people on the planet. Being with him is like that. It always feels like it's just the two of us in the world when we are together.

"Everyone gather around," my dad's voice booms out over the crowd, "we don't have much time before we have to wrap this up."

Tyler and I break from the kiss and he rests his forehead against mine for a moment before quickly pressing his lips to where his forehead was once touching mine. The players take a knee directly in front of my dad and the other coaches. Families stand behind the players. Tyler and I take an open spot. He stands behind me and I lean back on him, my shoulders comfortably settle into his chest. His arms drape over my shoulders. I place my hands on his. They're much warmer than mine. He must have noticed because he covers my hands with his own.

"First and foremost I have to say how incredibly proud of you boys I am. We had a rough start to this game and instead of tucking your tail between your legs you dug in and turned it around. No matter the outcome of this game I would have been just as proud. You didn't give up. You pushed. You all worked together. We can bask in this victory. You deserve it. But only until we leave this field. The moment we step off this field we begin to prepare for the next game. It's not over yet. Making it to the quarterfinals is not our goal. We aren't finished. It's not going to get easier going further, only harder. I said at the beginning of the season that we have a special group of boys and you know I don't just say those things. You keep playing how you're playing, with heart, then we will go as far as we are meant to." He pauses. "That's all the way, just in case anyone was wondering." The crowd laughs. "Well, I'm not going to take up more of everyone's time. I know y'all have to get home and we still have to get to the locker room. Be very proud of your sons. Their heart, determination, and willingness to do anything to win will not go unnoticed. They all have counted us out and we will continue to prove them wrong. Have a good night, everyone, and get home safe."

The families start to disperse. The players stand up and start to talk amongst themselves.

"Wow, he's like Superman," Tyler says into my ear.

"I know."

"Gather around everyone for the team photo. Tonight we have a special guest who will be joining us. Some of you may know him from the Dallas Stars. I know him as my daughter's boyfriend." My dad looks over at me and smiles. I can feel myself blushing and I bashfully look at the ground. "He wanted to be in the picture tonight and I told him I didn't think you guys would mind."

After every game, win or lose, after the families and friends and fans have left and it's just the team my dad has them pose for a team picture. Every game is a different experience, a different battle. He always makes sure to capture every single moment. He doesn't want them to take it for granted. Their time together is short. Some are just on varsity for two years, some for the whole four. Every one of these boys are special to him. He wants them to be special to each other. Team equals family.

Tyler stands in the middle and the team gathers around him. The coaches are in the back. At the last minute my dad calls me over. I protest at first but quickly file in, knowing that there's no arguing with him. We take the team picture then a few of the guys come up to Tyler and ask for individual pictures. My shy trio hangs back. I practically have to push them over to Tyler. They take pictures and ask for autographs.

"I should be asking you for an autograph. I saw that touchdown. And you, those tackles, you're a beast. Kinda scary actually."

My dad calls everyone in. They really have to get going. He comes over to us to say our goodbyes and we congratulate him one more time before he follows behind his team off the field. Tyler and I get back into his car and go back to his house. We still have a full night planned. I don't even know how I'm going to make it through the night. I'm already a little tired. I won't dare tell him, though, he'd just tease me about my age. I can handle a night out.

Once we get back to Tyler's house we let the dogs out and feed them before going up to his room to take a shower and get ready to go out.

"I have to take a shower. I feel gross," I say as I begin to take my clothes off.

He quickly starts taking his clothes up to catch up with me. "I'll join you."

I begin to walk into the bathroom, "I have to actually wash myself, Tyler."

He follows behind me and wraps his arms around me, pressing his naked body up against mine. "We will...eventually." He moves my hair aside and kisses my neck.

I suck in a deep breath. "We don't have a lot of time."

He runs his hands down the side of my body until they rest on my hips. "We can go fast. Or they can wait. That's up to you."

"They're your friends."

His hands go back up my body and cup my breasts. "I don't give a fuck about them right now," he hisses in my ear. I open the door to the shower and we step in. I get the water to the perfect temperature and stand under it. Tyler hasn't let go of me. "Maybe you should wash yourself first. I can still smell that kid on you."

"Who, Jared?"

"Don't say his name," he snaps.

"Ok I won't. What's gotten into you?"

"I saw the way he was looking at you."

Now I understand what's going on. It seems as if Jared being a little flirty with me has set Tyler off into a primal, protective, perhaps even possessive state. He's not angry, his growing hard on is pressing into my ass, he's turned on. "Jealous?"

"Jealous of a teenager?" He scoffs. "No." I turn to face him. The way he's looking at me is a way I've never seen before. There's a fire in his eyes. He's not mad but he looks intense. The passion burns a hole straight through me. He's a man possessed. I smirk. I can't help it. How could he ever think that anyone on this planet is a match for him? There's no one who can compare. "What's that smirk for?"

"Nothing," I coyly reply.

"Wipe that smirk off your face or I'll do it for you."

"Do it then." He kisses me and immediately his tongue is in my mouth. I run my tongue up along his before sucking on it. He holds onto the back of my head and deepens the kiss, which I didn't even think was possible. We break from the kiss and he spins me around and smacks my ass. "Fuck." He smacks it again. A wave of euphoria overwhelms me. I grind back and forth on him. He grips tightly onto my hips. "It seems like you are jealous. You have no reason to be, although he did try."

He turns me around and lightly pins me up against the cold tiles. "Try what?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Tell me what he said," he demands as he puts his face inches from my face.

"He said I should dump you and get with a real man." I grab onto his already rock hard cock and start stroking him. The way he's so turned on by this is turning me on as well.

"Oh did he?" He desperately kisses me.

"Mmhmm." Is all I can get out in between kisses.

"And what did you say?" He asks into my ear.

"I laughed. You're all man."

He slaps my ass. "You're damn right I am."

He starts massaging circles on my clit and I moan into his ear. "He also said he could go all night."

"He fucking said that?" He sticks two fingers in and pumps them in and out of me.

"Uh huh." My head is spinning but I'm trying to hold it together.

"Well you know I can too." He kisses my neck and sucks on my collarbone as he continues to finger me.

"You're all I want and need." I run my fingers through his soaking wet hair with one hand as I continue to stroke him with the other.

"The way he was looking at you drives me crazy. You're mine and he can't have you." He kisses down my neck and to my chest.

"What about all of those girls who all want you?"

He looks up at me and into my eyes. "What about them?"

"Don't you think I should be bothered by that the way you're bothered by him?"

He shakes his head. "No."

"No? Why not?"

"Because I...only want you. You're everything." He presses me up against the wall again and kisses me hard.

"So you think I want him?"

"No, but it fucking pisses me off that he'd even try. That little boy can't fuck you like I can."

"Prove it."

He picks me up by my ass and pins me up against the wall and I wrap my legs around his waist. He guides me down onto him and thrusts deep into me. I release this sound that I didn't even know I had in me as he continues to thrust just as hard each time. I dig my nails into his shoulder blades as he sucks on my neck and collarbone, biting down occasionally, sending the most amazing sensations throughout my body and ending in between my legs. I grab the back of his head and desperately kiss him while massaging his scalp and running my fingers through his hair.

He returns to the war on my neck as he pushes deeper and deeper inside of me. I throw my head back as I orgasm, but he's not done yet. He grips onto my ass harder and pulls me down onto him as he thrusts into me. I probably yell out every obscenity in the book as I have never felt pleasure like this before. He bites down on my shoulder and another orgasm rolls through me. My legs start to go limp and I let go of his waist. "I'm almost there, stay with me," he says through breaths into my ear. I kiss his neck as I tighten the grip of my legs around his waist once more. He places his hands on the wall on either side of me to use for leverage as he pumps a few more times into me and bites down on my collarbone hard as he cums. I moan into his ear and as his rhythm slows down he peppers sweet kisses along my neck to my shoulder where he left his mark.

Once again my legs go limp and he eases me down onto the floor. He grabs my face with both hands and kisses me. I wrap my arms around him and collapse into his chest. I can barely stand. My legs feel like Jello. "You ok?" He asks, sounding so innocent even though what we just did was anything but innocent.

"That was...holy shit, Tyler."

He smiles. "Yeah, for me too. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"Don't apologize. I loved it."

"You just had to instigate, didn't you?"

"Yes I did. Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it."

"Of course I did."

"I don't know how you expect me to be able to dance tonight after that."

"I don't expect you to be able to walk after that but I know you'll manage."

I smile and playfully smack him on the arm. "So bad."

He grabs my wrist and pulls me up against him and rests his forehead against mine. "You are."

He backs me up against the cold wall of the shower and kisses me. "I don't think you realize how cold the wall is," I say as he teases me with his lips, lingering over my lips, stealing kisses now and then.

"Sorry. We should probably get cleaned up and ready to go." He walks over to the shower head and stands under the water. He runs his fingers through his hair, pushing it back onto his head. I can't help admiring how perfect he looks. How can it be that it feels like I'm watching him in slow motion? The water rolling down his perfectly chiseled body. The way his biceps flex as he rubs his hands back and forth through his hair. He looks over at me. "Coming?"

"Already did...twice."

He laughs. "I think you mean three times."

I walk over and join him under the water. "Yeah, maybe three."

He kisses me. "Definitely three."

We grab the soap and start the process of getting clean. Normally we would wash each other and shampoo each other's hair, but we are running out of time so we make it quick and just wash ourselves. Tyler finishes first and steps out to dry off. He continues to watch me through the glass wall of the shower. "You're so sexy," he yells over to me, making sure I can hear him over the sound of the water.

I turn the water off. "You are." I step out of the shower and he walks towards me with a towel and wraps it around me. "Thanks. You are the best."

He smiles. "I try to be."


	14. Meeting Tyler's Friends

He wraps the towel around his waist, leans up against the sink counter, and watches me as I continue to dry myself off. After I dry off I grab another towel and wrap my hair up in it. I walk over to the sink counter where Tyler is still leaning and look in the mirror. I knew I was marked up but I didn't realize it was this noticeable. I have a combination of hickeys and visible bite marks from my neck to my shoulder. "Jesus, Tyler," I say as I touch one of the bite marks and it stings under my touch.

"Hurts?"

"A little, but I'll be able to handle it. The dress I brought isn't going to be able to cover this up, though."

"That's the point. You're mine."

"I'm going to have to try to cover up the hickeys at least. You don't want me looking trashy, do you?"

"No, I suppose not. They're worth it, though, right?"

"Absolutely."

He smiles and leans down to kiss me. He gently kisses the hickeys and bite marks he left. The evidence of the mind blowing sex we had. I'm surprised I didn't return the favor. I didn't hold back either.

After we hang the towels up we go into the bedroom where we are met by four very concerned looking labs. Tyler and I burst out laughing. They must have heard what was going on in the shower and thought something bad was happening. Their tails wag as we walk over and pet them and assure them everything's ok. It's more than ok. It's perfect.

We walk into Tyler's closet and start to gather up our clothes and start to get ready to leave. Tyler had made a spot for me to hang up my dress. He finishes getting dressed first and I beg him not to put product in his hair and to leave the hat at home but he won't do both.

I style my hair with a few loose curls before starting on my makeup. Usually I'm pretty light on my makeup but tonight I spend more time on my eyes to make them pop a bit more and I use a slightly bolder color on my lips. Once I finish I look in the mirror to look at the finished product. I am satisfied. I see Tyler's reflection in the mirror. He's leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. He smiles when he notices that I have spotted him. "You look amazing."

He walks up behind me and wraps his arms around me. I lean back against his chest. "Thanks, Ty."

He kisses my cheek. "You didn't cover anything up."

"I decided not to. Do I look terrible?"

"No. And if anyone says anything they can take it up with me. You're perfect."

"I figured the makeup that would be covering them would come off at some point anyway." I look at our reflection in the mirror, pick my phone up, and take our picture. "I still wish you'd take the hat off."

"No can do." He pats me on the butt. "Come on, let's get going."

Tyler lets the dogs out into the yard while I finish getting myself ready and I meet him out by the front door where he is waiting for me. The dogs all line up and look at us so sadly. I always hate leaving Grace. She makes me feel so guilty. Now I have four of them looking at me with their sad eyes. "They're breaking my heart," I say.

"Don't let them guilt you. Look away." He places his hand on the small of my back and guides me away from them. "The Uber will be here soon." We step outside to wait for the Uber. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry. That hotdog didn't really cut it."

"Ok, good, because we aren't going straight to the club."

"No? Where are we going?"

"Nobu."

"Nooo, Tyler, that's way too expensive."

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to?"

"You don't have to try and impress me. You've already got me."

"I'm not trying to impress you, I'm trying to spoil you." He kisses my forehead. "So let me."

I hug him and rest my head on his chest. "Ok. I'll let you."

He rubs his hand up and down my back. "Good."

Our Uber pulls up and we get in. Tyler slips his arm around me and I lean into him as we ride to Nobu. I'm actually very happy that we are going to be getting something to eat because I am pretty hungry and we are going to be doing a significant amount of drinking.

Dinner at Nobu was perfect. I had never been there before so I didn't know what to expect. I just knew it was way too expensive for me to even think about going to. Sometimes I forget that money is no object for Tyler. Despite the huge house and expensive cars I just see him as Tyler my boyfriend. He made sure I didn't hold back in ordering what I wanted just because I may think it was too expensive. "I want to give you the world," he keeps saying. It sounds so cliche, but he means it. Sometimes it's hard for me to accept. I'm proud and stubborn and have to learn that occasionally it's ok to let go of control.

I thought I was going to be nervous, but now that we are on our way to the club I'm starting to feel the nerves. I haven't met any of his friends, besides Chad, before and even that was a brief encounter. This is the first time Tyler's been this involved with someone. He spends more time with me and less time with them. I don't want them to think that it's me trying to change him. He's decided on his own that he'd rather spend his free time with me. I want to make a good impression. His friends are so important to him. I want to fit in. We all should be able to hang out with no problems.

Between the extracurricular activities in the shower and the dinner at Nobu we are showing up to the club fashionably late. I am second guessing not covering the hickeys up, I probably should have. All of a sudden I'm feeling self conscious and that I don't belong with him. We get out of the Uber and he rubs his hand up and down my back as we walk towards the door to the club. It's like he can read my mind and he knows that I'm feeling uneasy. I force a smile, hoping he buys it and won't ask me what's going on in my head.

Tyler grabs onto my hand as we are waved right into the club and I follow him in. We walk through the sea of people as Tyler looks around for his friends. He finally spots them and we make our way over to the roped off VIP area. They call out to him, some calling him Tyler and some calling him Segs or Seggy. He shakes hands and one arm hugs each of them as we step into the area.

"Guys, this is my girlfriend Amy. Amy, this is the guys." He introduces me to each of them by name.

"The ole ball and chain, eh, Segs?"

"I can't believe you actually have a girlfriend."

One says to me, "I guess we should be thanking you for letting him out of the house tonight."

"Hey, ease up on her," Tyler scolds.

A few of his friends exchange looks and in unison say, "whipped!"

I can't tell if it's because they're already drunk or that they're actually this obnoxious. I don't like the way they're looking at me. It feels like they're judging me, like I'm being a burden, like I'm not worthy of being here, not worthy of being with Tyler. Tyler pulls me closer to him, which relaxes me slightly. At least I know he wants me here and he doesn't share the thoughts of his friends. I sigh. It's going to be a long night.

"Let's go to the bar and get drinks," Tyler says as he pulls me away from his friends. I'm relieved to be getting away from them but I know the feeling isn't going to last long. We will be going right back over there. He catches the bartender's attention. "Bud Light and a Miller Lite."

"Jack and Coke instead of the Miller Lite, please," I interject.

He looks at me wide eyed with surprise. "Looking to get fucked up tonight?"

"Yeah. It's looking like I'm going to need to."

He looks at the bartender. "Two Jack and Cokes." He looks back at me and smiles. "Then I'll join you." He opens up a tab for us and his friends and we wait for our drinks. We are given two each so we don't have to come back to the bar right away.

Truth be told, I don't want to go back to his friends, but he's been so excited for tonight and for me to meet them and I don't want to be a stick in the mud. He has had to deal with my friends, I can tough it out and deal with his.

We make our way through the crowd and back to our area and Tyler sits down, pulling me down next to him. His friends gather around him and start talking to him very loudly. I know it's loud in here but I feel like they're being unnecessarily loud. I definitely feel left out even though Tyler tries to pull me into the conversation, they don't really seem interested in what I have to say.

"Tyler, leave her that and come do shots with us. Just the guys."

"Why can't she do shots with us?"

"Ugh, I guess if you can't detach yourself from her hip for five seconds..."

Tyler waves a waitress over and orders shots for the group. "So nobody has to go anywhere and we can all do them together."

She returns quickly with a tray of shots and we all grab a glass and down them as quick as they came. We place the empties down on her tray and Tyler orders another round. They all cheer like someone just scored a touchdown and pat him on the back. After we do our second round of shots we all settle back down. I still have one glass of Jack and Coke, which I down in one gulp. It burns going down my throat, that must have been all Jack with a splash of Coke. I'm not complaining, though, I'm going to have to get pretty drunk to be able to handle this night and I'm well on my way.

"She couldn't even bring friends for the rest of us?"

Tyler rolls his eyes. "She's not a pimp."

"Still..."

"Her friends are in relationships anyway."

"Bummer."

"Stop talking about her like she's not here. You guys could at least try to make an effort to be nice." He places a comforting hand on my thigh, perhaps an apologetic hand. I'm relieved he's sticking up for me. I know these are his friends and I'm sure he's acted like them at some point. I was worried he'd slip into old habits while being around them again. Even though I am seeing a different side of him tonight, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Between the shots and the considerable amount of Jack Daniels I've had in a very short period of time I am already feeling the buzz. I'm a lightweight as it is, so I'm on an express train to Drunksville. Tyler looks at me and I smile, which turns into a giggle. He smiles back at me. There's a way he looks at me as if I'm the only one in the room, in the world, and it gives me butterflies every time. He leans in and says into my ear, "you feeling good?"

"Yeah, real good," I am right on the cusp of slurring my words already.

"Want another?" He asks as he motions to my empty glasses.

"Uh huh." I hold up two fingers to let him know he might as well get me two. I don't expect them to be around long.

"Two? Are you sure?"

"Positive. Keep 'em coming."

"Ok." He quickly kisses me before standing up. "I'll be right back." I watch as he walks away, stopping to talk to a few of his friends. He smiles then laughs before continuing on his way. I can't help watching his ass before he disappears into the crowd.

"He can get anyone he wants and he settles on that. He's losing it." His friends either think they're talking low enough where I can't hear them or they simply don't care. I continue to look straight forward and listen to their conversation.

"He just wants someone to mommy him. He'll leave her for someone younger eventually."

"They're not exclusive so he could fuck someone else now if he wants."

"Probably is, knowing him."

By this time my blood is boiling. I don't even care that they're talking shit about me. I care more that these are people Tyler considers close friends and this is how they talk about him when he's not around. It's disgusting and they're way off base. The thing that aggravates me the most is how disrespectful they are towards him. He doesn't trust a lot of people and he trusts them. They're ungrateful and don't deserve his friendship.

I want to say something to them but I know it will just cause more trouble than it's worth. No matter what they say I know they're wrong. They don't know what they're talking about.

When Tyler gets back not only does he have our drinks, but he got drinks for everyone else too. That's what kind of friend he is. They don't even thank him as he passes the drinks around. It sends me over the edge. I can no longer stay silent.

"Why don't y'all tell Tyler what you were saying about him while he was at the bar?" No matter how hard I try to keep myself from slurring, it doesn't work. I know that I sound like a drunken mess but I don't care. He needs to know their true colors.

They all look at each other but none of them speak up.

"What is she talking about?" Tyler asks.

"We didn't realize you heard that."

"I was literally sitting next to you the whole time and you're not exactly whispering," I say, "you shouldn't be talking that way about your friend anyway."

"Is someone going to fill me in on what's going on?" Tyler asks, his aggravation growing.

"They were saying how you're only with me because you want someone to mommy you and you'll eventually leave me for someone younger. And apparently we aren't exclusive. I was going to keep quiet about it, but I just couldn't."

"Really, guys? That's what you think of me? Amy is my girlfriend. There isn't anyone else. To clear up any confusion, we are exclusive. She's all I want and I care a lot about her so you're going to have to find a way to accept that. I'm not even going to address the other things you said."

"We are sorry, Tyler."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to her."

"No need." I stand up. "I wouldn't believe you anyway." I grab my drink from the table. "I gotta walk away from this before I say something I'm going to regret." I walk out of our area and through the crowd. I'm not sure where I'm going and I didn't really mean to make a scene. I'm feeling a little guilty. Tyler just wanted this to be a nice night out with his friends. I can hear him calling out behind me so I stop and turn around.

"Are you ok?" He asks as he wraps me up in a hug.

"I'm sorry, Ty."

"Sorry for what? You stood up for me."

"I don't want to be one of those girls always causing drama. That's not me."

He rubs his hand up and down my back and kisses my forehead. "I know it's not." He lets go of me. "I should be the one apologizing to you. They shouldn't have treated you that way. What's worse is that I used to be like them."

"You're trying not to be, though."

"Yeah." I smile at him and he smiles back, which makes me giggle. "Come on, drunky, let's dance. Finish your drink." I down the rest of my drink in one gulp. "You're going to be trouble tonight, aren't you?"

"Maybe," I say coyly with a smile I can't fight from forming. He scrunches his nose which sends me into a fit of giggles. I think it's one of the cutest things he does and I don't think he even knows he does it.

He laughs as he shakes his head at me. "Just a fair warning, I'm a terrible dancer." He grabs onto my hips and pulls me up against him.

"That's ok. It would be unfair for you to be that perfect."

He leans in and says into my ear. "I'm far from perfect."

I stroke his cheek and cup his chin. "Not that far, my love." He smiles and bites his lower lip before kissing me.

Tyler and I dance for a bit. His hands rarely leave my body. He's always touching me. Keeping me close. He is right, he doesn't have much rhythm, but that's ok. I don't mind at all. I am having a great time with him, dancing so close you could barely tell where he starts and I begin. I am so lost in our own little world that I forget that we are here with his asshole friends until they join us. They are yelling something I can't even understand while they bring over shots, even one for me, which I'm surprised about. Tyler lets go of me for the first time since we started dancing and we all clink the glasses together before doing the shots. I miss the feel of his touch on my body already.

"Come back over with us, Segs, we have more drinks at the table."

"Oh shit, ok." He wraps his arm around my back and we start walking. "Come on, let's go."

I stumble through the crowd, feeling the effects of the alcohol a little more by this point. I'm steering more towards drunk than tipsy. I'm annoyed they're trying to pull Tyler away from me, but that doesn't stop me from continuously smiling like an idiot. Tyler keeps a firm hold on me, he can probably tell that I don't quite have my footing under me. We sit down on the seat bench that's in our roped off area, which is a relief, maybe I can contain myself for a bit while we sit.

Tyler has his arm around my shoulders as he leans over me to talk to his friends. My attention has diverted from being annoyed at his douchebag friends to the backwards snapback on his head. His hair is so soft, especially since he didn't put product in it before leaving the house, the snapback needs to go. I want to see the full head of hair, and more importantly I want to run my fingers through it.

Tyler notices me staring at him. "What's up?"

"That hat has got to go."

"Oh yeah?" I nod yes. "You think so?"

"Uh huh."

"Mmm. Nope. It stays on."

"Tyler, pleeeeeease," I whine, "it should be a crime to cover up that hair."

"It'll be all over the place."

"Precisely the point. You don't know anything!" I push him a little.

"Ow! Careful with those hands, drunky." He smiles at the nickname he's come up with for me for the night.

"You're drunk too!"

"You're so funny." I start to unbutton his shirt. One button, then another. He looks down at my fingers fumbling with the third button. "What are you doing?"

"If you're not going to take the hat off then I'm going to have to take something else off."

A sly smile creeps across his face. He grabs my wrists as I get to the fifth button. "Woah woah. That's enough." I smile as I let go of the button and he lets go.

I put my hand on the skin of his now exposed chest and pull his head down to kiss him. He kisses me back. Our tongues sloppily meet in each other's mouths. The alcohol is taking over any control over our bodies we used to have. I kiss his neck and up to his ear. "Not nearly enough," I say as I kiss around his ear.

He leans into my kisses and takes a deep breath. "Ok. You win." He takes the snapback off of his head and places it down on the seat next to him. He runs his fingers through his hair to push it out of his face.

"You have no idea how sexy that is."

"It's just hair."

"You're such a guy."

"Lucky for you." He giggles. He darts up. "I love this song." He starts dancing in front of me and singing in my face. He turns around and starts shaking his butt in my face, rubbing it on me.

"Yeah baby!" I yell as I slap it a few times. He looks over his shoulder at me and suggestively raises his eyebrows up and down. I put my hands on both cheeks and squeeze.

He laughs so hard his shoulders shake. He turns around, pulls me up by my hands, and hugs me. "I hope you're having a good time."

"With you, always."

He smiles. "More shots?" I nod yes. "That's my girl." He waves over our waitress. "Two tequila shots."

"Tequila, eh?"

"Yup. Can't handle it?"

" I so can."

He looks me up and down. "Have I told you how fucking sexy you look tonight?"

"A few times, but you don't have to stop."

"How did I get so lucky? That is all mine." He motions his hand up and down, referring to my body. "You're all mine." He looks around as if he's telling someone specific but no one else is listening to him. "Guys!" They all turn and look his direction. "She's all mine!" He yells to them.

They patronize him with nods and go back to their conversation. "I don't think they like me, Ty."

"Who gives a fuck? I like you. A lot. They're going to have to get used to the fact that you're important to me. If not, I guess oh well."

Our waitress comes over with our shots and Tyler takes both of them off of the tray. He hands me mine and I carefully take it. I'm not sure I trust my perception at this point. I treat it as if it were a faberge egg. Tyler watches me in amusement. "Told you I got this," I proudly say.

He takes the two lime wedges off of her tray. "Sure." I take the lime from him with no problem. He holds his his glass up for me to clink against, which I do. I shoot the shot and quickly bite down on the lime and suck on it. The tequila burns as it slides down my throat. I look at Tyler, who is still holding his shot. "What the hell? You didn't drink yours. Cheater."

"I'm going to drink mine, Don't worry."

He pours a little of the shot on my shoulder and licks it. "Well fuck, Ty." He smiles. He pours a little more on my collarbone and quickly licks that too. He gently sucks on my neck. I grab onto his hair and run my fingers all through it. He lifts his head and it flops down into his face which sends me into hysterical laughter. He shoves his head in my face and moves it back and forth. I get a mouth full of hair as I continue to laugh.

"This is supposed to be sensual. Stop laughing."

"Your fault."

"I only have a little left." He pouts his lower lip out.

"Better make it count."

He looks at my chest. "I plan to."

He pours the rest of the shot down my chest and quickly licks it up before it gets on my dress. He places his hands on my ass as his kisses up my neck, continues as he kisses my cheek, and places a single kiss on my lips. He holds me up against him with one hand while the other places the lime wedge in his mouth and he bites down. He drops the lime onto the table and kisses me. He tastes like tequila and lime and god knows what else he's been drinking tonight. He's intoxicating. The feeling of his hands on my ass sends electricity up my spine. I'm surprised I'm able to stop myself from ripping his shirt open, pushing him down on the bench, and mounting him.

"Best shot of tequila I've never taken," I say as my fingers have found themselves back in his hair.

Tyler looks over at his friends, who are watching us. Again, I had forgotten we were in the company of other people. That happens often when I'm with Tyler. It's so easy to get lost all up in him. They look like they're annoyed, disgusted maybe? Not happy with our display at all. "You guys have a fucking problem?" he snaps.

"There are other people in the club, you know, Segs?'"

"And? You seem to be the only ones who care what we're doing."

"This is not the place for that."

"Oh look at the fucking fun police all of a sudden. If I was here with anyone else you wouldn't care. You'd be cheering me on." They roll their eyes. "Whatever your problem is with her, drop it, she's not going anywhere. In fact, I'm closing out my tab. If you don't like her, buy your own fucking drinks." He grabs his hat and my clutch from the bench and grabs my hand. "Come on, Amy. You won't have to deal with them anymore."

We go over to the bar and Tyler closes out his tab. "I could buy your drinks if you want," I say.

"You're going to be my sugar momma?"

I giggle. "Yeah. Whatever you want, I'll provide."

He smiles. "My cougar sugar momma." He rests his forehead against mine. "All I want is you. Let's get out of here." He pulls me by the hand and we go outside. He puts his snapback on his head forwards and his hair sticks out to the side over his ears. He takes his phone out to get us an Uber back to his place.

"You're a mess," I tease through giggles. I laugh so hard I almost fall over. He grabs onto me and stands me up straight.

"Me? You are! You can't even stand up straight."

"Your hair." I start laughing again. I can't even finish my thoughts.

He takes the hat off, pushes his hair back, and puts the hat back on. "Better?"

"No."

"No?" he asks, sounding offended.

"The hat. No."

"Oh, right. But it's not all over the place anymore."

"Nope."

Our Uber pulls up and Tyler helps me in before walking around the car and getting in on the other side. He puts his arm around my back and I lean up against him. He kisses my temple. I was having a great time with Tyler but I'm glad we are out of there and on our way back to his place. I've had enough excitement for one night. I'm ready to get in bed.

"Your friends, they're...something."

"What? Just tell me how you feel. You can be honest."

"They seem like assholes."

"Yeah well at least they didn't ask you how many guys you've slept with."

"At least I can count them on one hand."

"No! I was your sixth. You're a two hand hoe now." He laughs.

"Sixth and last." I say, not even thinking about it. He smiles. "Now kiss me."

He kisses me hard and sloppy. We are way sloppier than earlier. I don't care, though, even the sloppiest kisses from him are the best I've ever had. Our Uber driver is yelling at us to stop but we both ignore him. We are lip locked all the way to Tyler's house.

We get out of the car and stumble to the front door. Tyler takes his keys out of his pocket and struggles to find the key to the door. It doesn't help that I have started to unbutton the rest of his shirt that I didn't get to in the club. I finally get all of the buttons unbuttoned and he still hasn't found the key.

I grab the keys out of his hand. "Let me try."

He grabs the keys back. "You're more drunk than I am." He finally finds the key and opens the door. We step inside and all four dogs come running over to us. We take our shoes off as soon as we get in the house. "Don't jump on her, guys, she'll fall right over."

"Bring it on, pups!"

"Don't encourage them." We walk over to the door to the backyard and he opens it. The dogs run out and Tyler turns to me. "Now where were we?"

"Taking your clothes off." I push the fabric off of his shoulders and he lets his arms dangle down so I can pull the rest of his shirt off of him. I unbuckle his belt and button his pants. I pull the zipper down and they fall to the floor, leaving him in only his boxer briefs. "Underwear tonight. Such a shame."

"That could easily be changed, you know." He reaches behind me and unzips my dress. He moves one shoulder strap off of my shoulder, then the other. It falls to the floor along with Tyler's jeans.

"Looks like we're even now."

Tyer walks over to where he keeps the dog food and pours a few bowls for the dogs for when they come in. "Boys! And Grace! Come inside!"

"In a rush to get somewhere, Segs?" It comes out way more slurred than I was hoping it would.

"Did you just say sex or Segs?"

"Is there a difference?"

He giggles. "I guess not."

"For the record, Segs. Like Seggy. Seggy Bear. Seguin."

He scrunches his nose. "Seggy Bear?"

"Because you're my super snuggly Seggy Bear."

"And your sex."

I laugh. "Yes. And my sex."

The dogs run in and Tyler closes the door behind them. "Speaking of sex..." He reaches around me and unclips my strapless bra and lets it fall to the floor along with the rest of our clothes. I'm surprised he was able to do it so quickly considering it took him five minutes to get the right key in the front door. He runs his hands down my back and grabs onto my ass and pulls me up against him. He leans down and tenderly kisses me. I reach up and grab his hat and throw it across the room. "You'll pay for that." He goes back to kissing me as I run my fingers through his hair.

I say into his ear, "I'm looking forward to it." I kiss his neck and he tightens his grip on my ass.

"Bedroom now." He scoops me up in his arms and I wrap my arm around his neck. He only gets a few steps before stumbling and almost dropping me. Luckily he kept his hold on me and was able to steady himself. He lets go of my legs and they awkwardly fall to the floor. We both start laughing uncontrollably. "That was a complete fail, I'm sorry."

"I'll carry you." I bend down in a stance so he can get on my back and I can give him a piggyback ride to the bedroom. "Get on."

"Ok." He walks up behind me. "Ready?" He wraps his arms around me and tries to get on my back. Before his feet even leave the floor we both fall over and land on the floor.

Tyler giggles and I throw my head back with laughter. "Why did we think that would work?"

He pulls me on top of him. "I should just fuck you here on the floor."

"The dogs. That won't work."

"You're right." He stands up and pulls me up. "Let's go." He drags me through the house by my hand until we get to the bedroom. He closes the door behind us so the dogs don't come in. We've made that mistake one time. Never again.

We get into bed and he lies on his back. I snuggle up to him and rest my head on his chest. He hugs me and kisses my forehead. I take a deep breath. This may be the most comfortable I've ever been. My eyes immediately start to grow heavy. He leans his head on mine. I close my eyes and fall asleep to the sound of his heart beating.


	15. Lunch, Skating, Top Golf

"Craving Chipotle?"

I look up from my computer to see Tyler resting his forearms on the top of my cubicle and holding onto a Chipotle bag.

"What are you doing here?" I ask with a smile on my face. It's so good to see him, he's been away all week.

"Bringing you lunch, unless you don't want it." He pulls the bag away from me.

"Of course I want it. That's sweet of you."

He holds the bag out for me and just as I reach out to take it from him he pulls it away again and smiles. "Did you take your break yet?"

"Not yet."

"Can we eat together?"

"Yeah, let me just finish up real quick." I continue typing and Tyler continues to stand and watch me. "I can get you a chair if you want to sit."

"I'll get one." He walks over to an empty cubicle and wheels the chair from it into mine and sits down. He places the Chipotle bag on my filing cabinet. It smells so good. "I finally get to see you work. You always see me at work."

"Your job is a lot more exciting than mine."

"Doesn't matter. I still get to watch you so that makes it better."

I blush. "You're too sweet."

"Don't tell anyone. Speaking of not telling anyone, there's not one picture of me on your desk. What's that about?"

"I don't have any pictures on my desk."

"Grace and I are very offended. You know, people who don't even know me have me on their desk and my own girlfriend doesn't." He pouts. "I'm heart broken."

"I'm sorry." I swivel around in my chair to face him. I give him a quick kiss. "Forgive me?"

"I guess so."

One of my coworkers, Caroline, walks over and leans over the top of my cubicle. Tyler and I both look at her. "Amy, aren't you going to introduce your friend to us?" she asks.

I stand up and realize that just about every woman in the office is standing up and looking in our direction. They're so nosey, which is part of the reason I don't have pictures up on my desk. "Looks like he have an audience."

Tyler stands up looks over his shoulder and around the room at them all. "Hi, I'm Tyler," he announces with a wave, "Amy's boyfriend."

"I'm sorry about them," I mutter so only he can hear.

"It's ok."

A few of my coworkers gather around my cube along with Caroline. "Where have you been hiding this one?" Kathy asks.

"She keeps me locked in a closet," Tyler answers.

"He's joking," I say.

"Or am I?" Tyler replies. He smiles wide and I look down and smile. "I have a busy schedule."

"I can't believe she hasn't told us about you."

Tyler looks at me. "Yeah, same here. Can you believe she doesn't have a picture of me on her desk?"

"I have plenty on my phone," I mumble.

"You ladies would have a picture of me on your desk, right?"

"Of course."

"Yes."

"Absolutely."

He smiles smugly. "See, Amy."

"I will have some printed and framed." I sit back down so I can finish what I'm working on so I can go to lunch and escape the office drooling over my boyfriend. They continue to talk to him while I go back to work. Of course he is more than happy to talk to them and answer their questions.

I work as quickly as I can to get finished so we can go to lunch. Not only am I starving, but I don't want my workers spending too much time fawning over Tyler. He rolls his chair up right behind mine and leans over my shoulder. "Almost done?" He whispers in my ear, sending chills down my spine. He kisses my cheek and rests his chin on my shoulder.

I stop typing. "Yeah. Let's go. There's somewhere down the road we can go eat peacefully." I'm not quite done but he's impatient and there's no way I'd be able to concentrate with him peering over my shoulder.

We stand up, he grabs the Chipotle bag, and I grab my purse. "It was nice meeting everyone," Tyler announces to my office before we step outside.

"There's a little park area with benches and tables that we can go to. That's usually where I spend my breaks anyway. It's peaceful." He starts to take his keys out of his pocket. "I'll drive." He shrugs and puts the keys back in his pocket.

He looks over my shoulder at my office building and smiles. "They're all watching us. Want to give them a show?"

"Not particul..." Before I can finish my sentence his hands are on my cheeks and he's kissing me. My hands rest on his hips as he tenderly, but passionately kisses me. His lips are soft and each touch to mine is meticulous. I kiss him back just as deliberately, following his lead. It's like our lips are making love to each other. Our tongues stay in our mouths. There's no need to bring them into this. This is perfect. I could kiss him all day, especially like this, but I only have an hour for lunch. I don't pull away until he breaks the kiss. "Wow, Ty."

"I've missed you all week." He opens the car door and gets in. I do the same.

"I missed you too. When did you get in?"

"I finally got home at around 2. We had a light practice today."

"You didn't text. I was wondering if you guys stayed overnight instead."

"Sorry about that. I pretty much passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow."

"You're still looking a little sleepy." I massage the back of his head and neck while we are stopped at a red light.

"Keep that up and you won't be making it back to work."

"Don't tempt me. I'm still weak from that kiss."

He smiles. "I should do this more often."

"Then nothing will get done in the office."

"Oh stop."

"It's true."

I pull into the parking lot and park in my usual spot under a huge tree, right by one of the tables. It's a little park with a man made pond in the middle. Picnic tables are set up all around the pond and there is a small playground for kids to play on. I usually come here during my lunch break because it's quiet. Not many people come here. I can sit and relax while I eat. I can forget about work for an hour.

Tyler places the bag down on the table and starts to unpack it. "I got you that iced tea you like."

"You're the best."

"I try." He looks around, taking in the scenery. "This is a nice little place."

"Yeah I come here most days, especially when it's cooler out. It helps me keep my sanity."

"I can see why you like it. Being by the water always calms me too."

"They did a good job making it feel like you're secluded even though it's not."

"Is this where you're always posting those pictures from?"

"Yeah. There's a walkway that takes you through the trees. I usually go for a walk there after I eat."

"You'll have to show me."

"Ok I will."

We continue eating and I explain to Tyler why I haven't told my coworkers about him. It comes down to the fact that I just don't like them. I try not to interact with them unless I have to. The office is like any office, they have their drama and gossip and I don't want to have any part in it. I want to come in, do my work, and go home. I don't have a close work friend and I'm fine with that.

After we finish eating we clean up and start to make our way over to the entrance to the walkway. Tyler grabs my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine. He brings my hand to his lips and places a kiss on my knuckles. Even after all these months knowing him he still gives me butterflies when he does things like that.

"I'm taking you skating after work," he says.

"You are?"

"Yup. You need more practice."

"Practice for what?"

"Just to get better. Didn't you have fun last time?"

"Yeah I did."

"See? This time it'll be even more fun because you somewhat know what you're doing now." He playfully nudges me.

"Just somewhat?"

"Uh huh." He giggles.

"Did you come to my job just to ask me to go skating with you tonight?"

He smirks, showing off his irresistible double dimples. "Maybe."

I stop walking, which makes him stop. I pull him close and hug him. He doesn't realize how much I needed this today. It's been hard missing him all of the time and work has been a nightmare. I forget all of that when I'm with him. He hugs me back and holds me tight. "I don't want to go back to work," I say quietly into his chest.

He rests his chin on the top of my head. "Then don't."

I look up at him and he smiles. "I wish I didn't have to, but I do."

He kisses the tip of my nose. "I know." He lets go of me and takes a few steps back. "Go stand over there by that tree."

I look behind me at the tree and back at him. "Why?"

"So I can take a picture."

"Oh. I don't know, Tyler. I'm in my work clothes."

"So? You're beautiful. Sexy even." He suggestively raises his eyebrows up and down and smiles. I laugh and shake my head at him. "Please?" I look down at myself. I'm not even wearing my favorite work clothes today. I snarl and look up at him. "You look perfect," he reassures me, "it's just for me anyway."

"Ok." I stand by the tree he had pointed to. "I don't even know what to do."

"You don't have to do anything. Maybe smile."

"Shouldn't I pose or something? What should I do with my hands."

"It's not that serious, goofy, lean against it if you want."

I look to make sure there aren't any bugs or anything that could get my clothes dirty before I lean back against the tree. I contemplate leaning on my side against it, maybe that would be a better position. He holds his phone up and I smile. "How do I look?" I ask as I walk towards him to inspect the picture. I'm not going to let him keep it if I don't like it.

"I told you perfect. Always perfect." He hands me the phone. "See?"

"OK, you can keep it."

"Like you had a choice." He takes the phone from me. "It's going on Instagram."

I grab for his phone but he pulls it away quickly. "You said it was just for you."

"Changed my mind."

"No, no, no, Tyler! That can't be the first picture they see of me!"

I reach for the phone again but he holds me back with a big smile on his face. "I'm just kidding." I smack him on the arm. He laughs. "It doesn't matter what picture I use, though. Just saying."

"I think I'd prefer a selfie of the two of us when we are ready."

"It's not up to you but I'll note your suggestion."

"You're such a shit." He pulls me up against him and kisses me. He's making it extremely hard for me to want to go back to work. "Now you go stand by the tree so I can take a picture of you."

"Ok." He walks over to the tree and leans his back up against it. "Ready."

I open the camera and hold my phone up to take the picture. He grabs the bottom of his shirt and lifts it up, exposing his abs. He smirks and flexes to show the outline of the muscles. "Oh my god, Tyler." I take the picture. He smiles, still holding his shirt up. I take another picture. "I feel like one of your thirsty fans." He starts laughing and I take one more picture. "I can't believe you."

"That'll get you through the rest of your bad day." He walks over to me and kisses my forehead. "And maybe some of your lonely nights." I laugh. He looks at his watch. "We are running out of time."

"I know. We should probably start walking back to the car."

By the time we walk back to the car and drive back to work I only have about 5 minutes before I have to go in. It's going to take everything in me to tear myself away from him.

"I'll meet you at your house after work. We can go to the rink after you change, unless you want to eat first."

"We can eat after. If i sit down to eat before, I may not want to go."

"I'd make you."

I roll my eyes. "I'll leave the door unlocked for you to come in if I make it home before you."

"Ok, sounds good."

"Thanks for lunch, and for taking my mind off of things for a while."

"Any time I'm in town and you need to see me, just let me know. Next time I come here I'll bring Chipotle for the whole office, and I better see pictures of us on your desk."

"I'll get on that right away. Promise."

He smiles. "Good." We get out of the car and he gives me one last hug before we have to part ways. "Don't work too hard, ok? I'll see you later."

It's extremely hard but I finally let go of him and head back inside to my desk. I can feel all of the eyes in the office on me but I decide not to engage and look straight ahead until I make it to my cube. I sit down and dive right back into my work. I have a lot to do today and I don't want to have to stay late, especially now that I have plans to see Tyler later. Seeing him has breathed new life into me, though, so I breeze through it.

I slip out a few minutes early so I can get to my car without any distractions. Of course I hit traffic on the way home. It's not like I thought I would bypass the traffic by leaving a few minutes early, but I was hoping I'd get lucky.

When I pull up to my house I see Tyler's G Wagen parked out in front. I was hoping to beat him here, but I didn't really have a chance with that traffic. I pull up beside him on the way to my driveway and he's looking at his phone. He doesn't see me watching him. I beep my horn, which startles him, and I laugh. He glares at me and shakes his head as he sticks his middle finger up at me. I stick my tongue out at him and continue on my way to the driveway.

He's waiting for me by my front door by the time I get out of my car. "I brought you lunch and I'm taking you out on a surprise date and that's the thanks I get," he complains as I walk towards him.

"You would have done the same thing to me, you big baby."

He smiles. "Probably." He hugs me and kisses my cheek. "Took you long enough to get here."

"Traffic was a bitch." I open the door and Grace jumps off of the couch. "Hey, baby girl, did you miss me?" She runs right to Tyler and leans up against his legs for his usual back rub. "I guess not."

Tyler rubs her back and she looks up at him like he's the greatest thing in the world. "I missed you too, Gracie." He squats down and she practically jumps in his lap as she showers him with kisses. He kisses her nose. "Sorry I'm going to be taking mommy away for a few hours. I know she just got home."

"She doesn't care. She doesn't even know I'm here. Can you let her out? I'm going to change."

"Of course. Come on, Gracie, let's go outside." They head out to the backyard and I head to my room. I immediately take my slacks and blouse off. It's such a satisfying feeling to be stripped from your work clothes. It's like I can finally leave work behind for the rest of the day.

The first thing I do is take my skates out of the closet and place them by the bed. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to wear. I stand in the doorway of my closet in my bra and panties like I'm making a life or death decision. It's just clothes and we are just going ice skating. I'm not going to lie, I feel pressure to look perfect when I'm going to be out with him. This isn't any pressure he puts on me. I put it on myself. I'm a hockey girlfriend now. There's a standard that people hold you to when you're a hockey girlfriend.

"It's not brain surgery. Go with whatever you'll be most comfortable in," Tyler says from behind me. I didn't even know he had walked into the room.

I look over my shoulder at him. He's sitting on my bed with Grace by his side. "Is leggings ok? Or should I wear jeans? I should probably wear jeans. It's cold at the rink."

"Jeans or joggers. It's up to you."

"I'd look like a bum in joggers."

"First of all, no you wouldn't. Second of all, who cares? I think you look hot in anything." I grab my favorite pair of black skinny jeans and put them on. "Whatever T-shirt you grab will be fine. Don't forget a hoodie."

I see one of the Adidas shirts he gave me and I put that on. He smiles once he recognizes it as something that came from him. "Tell them thank you, it's very comfortable." Tyler had been getting shoes and shirts and all sorts of clothing from Adidas since he's partnered with them now so he asked them to send me a care package and they were more than happy to supply me with way too many sneakers, not that im complaining, and a bunch of shirts and sweatpants.

"I will."

To complete my outfit I grab a pair of my new Adidas Ultra Boosts, burgundy. They are the most comfortable sneakers I've ever worn. Luckily I now have them in every color. I feel spoiled, like I don't deserve them, but I'm thankful Tyler had them hook me up. I've enjoyed all of the clothes they sent me.

I walk over to where Tyler is sitting and he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close, resting his head on my stomach. I take the snapback off of his head and play with his hair. He looks up at me and smiles. I lean down and kiss his nose. "I'm ready when you are," I say as I rub the tip of my nose back and forth against his.

"Just a few minutes." He cups the back of my head and kisses me some more. This is what I've been missing all week while he was gone. He lies back on the bed, pulling me on top of him, as we continue to kiss. He runs his hands down the sides of my body and grabs my ass, pulling me into him. I can't help moaning into the kiss. He knows exactly what he's doing and exactly what to do to drive me wild.

"I thought we were going skating," I murmur into his ear.

"We are." He sits up and holds me on his lap as I am now straddling him. "In a few minutes." He leans in to kiss me but we are met with a dog's face in our faces. Grace licks Tyler's nose, then mine. "Sorry you had to see that, Grace, I get the hint. We are going."

He holds onto me as he stands up and places me down on the floor. I grab a hoodie from the closet and put it on. I grab my skates from the floor and we head out to the car. I always feel so bad leaving Grace, especially since I just got home, but I am looking forward to the date Tyler has planned. We rarely have time for planned dates so this is a very welcome night out.

Once again Tyler has made sure that there is no one in the Stars Center so we could have our privacy. The front office staff has even gone home for the day. All that remains is the ice maintenance guy who will scrape and resurface the ice after we are done. Tyler has promised to make it worth his time.

When we get to the rink Tyler has me sit down on the bench to put my skates on while he goes to the locker room to get his skates. I get my skates on and tie them tight before Tyler makes it back out. He sits down next to me to put his skates on. He tells me I can go out onto the ice and wait for him if I want to. I am hesitant, but decide that I might as well get out there and get myself used to the feeling of being on skates again before he joins me.

I step out onto the ice and immediately hold on to the boards in front of the bench. I move myself along the boards, never letting go. I need to get better at this somehow. It shouldn't be this difficult. Tyler stands up and joins me on the ice. "You're going to have to let go of the wall. You can't always rely on it."

"I know." I let go of the wall. I wobble a little bit but quickly find my footing.

He holds onto my waist and kisses me while starting to skate forward. I am too lost in the kiss to worry about balance or falling or anything besides how amazing he makes me feel. Before I know it we have skated around the rink and made it back to the bench. We finally break from the kiss, both of us smiling like fools.

"I'm never going to learn how to skate at this rate," I say as he begins to skate backwards away from me.

He stops. "You just skated all around the rink."

"I don't think that counts. That was more like gliding along."

"Skate to me." I skate all the way to Tyler without falling. It wasn't the most graceful, but at least I didn't fall. I'm feeling a bit more confident. "That was much better. I am such a good teacher." He smiles proudly and hugs me. "You'll get the hang of it." He kisses my forehead. He grabs both of my hands and begins to skate backwards. "Try to keep up the pace with me."

We start off slow but gradually get faster and faster. To my surprise I am able to keep up with him. I finally don't feel like a newborn deer out on the ice, not knowing how to move my legs. He lets go of my hands and skates away from me so I can try to catch up with him again.

"I'm not a total spaz anymore at least," I call out to him.

"Yeah, you're looking good." I skate faster and catch up to him. I still have to use him to be able to stop. "Wow. That was great." He pulls me against him and whispers in my ear, "sexy." Which sends goosebumps all over my body.

"This is my favorite part of skating."

He smiles. "Yeah?"

"Definitely." He bites his lower lip and smiles before leaning down to kiss me. He lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist as I deepen the kiss. He holds onto me by my butt and I wrap my arms around his neck and melt into him.

We skate around for a bit longer. I am starting to get the hang of it. I am still having problems stopping on my own, but I'm happy with my progress.

Tyler takes his phone out of his pocket and holds it up, I'm assuming he's putting me on Snapchat. "Amy is attempting to skate," he narrates as he follows me around the ice.

"Oh hush!"

"Bambi legs, Bambi legs," he says in a sing-song voice.

"Tyler!" He laughs and puts his phone in his pocket. "You think you're so funny."

"I'm hilarious."

"You think you are."

"Just like you can think you can skate." A smile slowly creeps across his face. He is so proud of himself. It's just like him to tease me. I'm used to it by now.

"You wanna go, Seguin?" He looks at me with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "I'm dropping the gloves." I pretend to throw invisible gloves to the ice, like in a hockey fight.

He crosses his arms over his chest. "You know I don't fight."

"Scared?" I try to push him but he doesn't budge and I slide backwards and glide until I stop.

"How are you going to fight me from all the way over there?"

I skate over to him and try to hip check him. He doesn't budge and he has to grab onto me to keep me from falling. "You're so tough."

"I've been learning." I try to push him again but I still can't make him move. He's planted onto the ice and I am not a strong skater.

"Done yet?" he asks, amused at my attempts to fight him. I body check him. Throwing my whole weight into him. I still can't make him move. How is that even possible? We are on skates on the ice. I know he's strong, but I didn't think I was that weak. "You're cute," he says as he scrunches his nose.

I reach around him and grab his ass with both hands. He jumps a little from not expecting me to do that. "I'll just have to find my own ways to get you to move."

"Hey, hey, hey. That's against the rules."

"Amy's NHL doesn't have rules."

"Amy's NHL is dirty."

"So dirty."

He grabs onto my ass and kisses me as he skates backwards, bringing me along with him. I reach my hand down and palm his junk. His jeans are so tight that I can already feel the outline of his cock.

He breaks from the kiss. "Oh, it's like that, eh?"

"Don't act like you don't like it. Have you forgotten where my hand is? I know you're loving this."

He smiles, looks down at my hand, and looks back up at me. He maintains eye contact with me as he slips his hand in between my legs. I take a deep breath and can't fight my jaw from dropping. He leans in and says into my ear, "two can play at this game." I make some kind of animal sound and grab him a little harder. I rub my hand up and down a few times and can feel his erection grow in my hand.

"How far are you willing to take this?" I ask before placing tender kisses down his neck.

"Don't tempt me," he growls as he pushes me up against the boards. His erection is begging to be released from his jeans. I can feel the whole length of him pressing up against the fabric. He rocks his hips into me a few times. There is no way we can continue this much longer out here on the ice.

"Are we actually going to..." I begin to say.

He stops everything he's doing and takes a deep breath. "No. No, of course not. This isn't why I brought you here."

"I didn't think it was. We always wind up getting carried away."

He smiles. "Yeah, we do. I can't keep my hands off of you most of the time. It was a long week without you."

"You should have just fought me like I wanted you to."

He holds my face in his hands. "I would never fight you." He kisses me. "Let's go sit down on the bench. There's something I want to ask you." We skate over to the door to the bench, step off the ice, and sit on the bench. What could he possibly have to ask me? He already asked me to be his girlfriend. He seems excited about it, though, which makes me excited. He wraps his arm around me and I lean into him.

"What's up, sweetie?"

"So, the team has this Christmas party type thing called family skate where we have some dinner and drinks and go skating and I was wondering if you wanted to go. I'd like you to be there with me. The guys all have their wives and kids and girlfriends with them and I've never brought anyone before. I've never had anyone I wanted to bring. I want to bring you. Is that something you'd want to go to?"

"Of course, Tyler."

He smiles from ear to ear. "Great."

"I'll probably make a fool of myself, though."

"No you won't. I'll be holding onto you the whole time."

"You won't be ashamed that you have a girlfriend who can't skate?"

"I knew you couldn't skate and I still asked you to be my girlfriend."

"You sweet talker."

He laughs. "Just for the record, you're an ok skater. You're going to be fine. The skating isn't what's important anyway. Having the people you...care about with you is what's important."

"I'm really looking forward to it. I love that you made asking it so special."

"I thought it would be fitting." He kisses my temple. "And you really needed the practice."

"Jerk." I elbow him in the ribs. He laughs.

"Do you want to go to Top Golf? I'm not really ready to end the date."

"Golf, really? Is this the night of everything I suck at?"

"It'll be fun."

"I know, because I'll be with you."

His cheeks and ears grow pink from blushing. "Really?" he bashfully asks.

"Yup."

"Let's get these skates off then."

He lifts one of my feet onto his lap and unties my skate and does the same with the other. He unties his skates and brings them back into the locker room while I put my sneakers back on. After he gets out he lets the attendant know that we are going to be leaving and thanks him for letting us skate.

Once we get to Top Golf we order food and drinks as soon as we get to our bay. By this point we are both very hungry. Having a date night like this with him is such a rarity and I am having such a great time. It gives me even more to look forward to for when the summer comes and he won't have any games. I feel like we are more of a normal couple when we get to go out and have fun. Usually during the week I just get to see him after his games, this is when he's in Dallas. On the weekends while he's here there's usually a game on Saturday and I spend my Sundays with my dad, which is usually Tyler's off day. It's sometimes difficult to set aside time for each other so this is special.

Tyler has me go up first. My ball is dispensed and I place it on the tee. Tyler's sitting on the couch with his arm propped up on the back of it. "Don't be alarmed, but there is a six year old in the bay next to us that can hit better than you," he teases.

I look over my shoulder at him. "You're really trying hard not to get laid tonight."

He giggles and holds his phone up to video me. "Come on, show 'em what you got. Don't miss the ball."

"You're going to be so sorry when I murder this ball."

"I'm ready."

I set up in front of the ball and study it hard. I really don't want to miss the ball. I don't really care how hard I hit it, I just want to hit it. Just as I'm about to start my swing I decide I need to take my hoodie off. I feel too constrained with it on. I take it off and drape it over the back of one of the chairs.

"It's getting serious now. The hoodie is off," Tyler says, still taking video of me. I set back up in front of the ball. "Now this is a better view." I assume he's talking about my ass so I shake it a little. He laughs. "Hot."

I swing and actually hit the ball, which I am so thankful for, and it goes a decent amount of distance. "That wasn't bad," I say as he stands up to take his turn.

"I must be rubbing off on you."

"That was all me. Don't try to take credit."

He grabs a club and kisses me quickly before I sit down. I take my phone out to film him as he did me. I've been trying to make an effort to capture more moments, most of them are just for myself but I have been a bit more active on Snapchat. I blame Tyler. He's addicted.

"Tyler Seguin steps up to the tee. Let's see if he can beat Amy's distance." He looks over at me with a smile before going back to concentrating on the ball. "Look at that sweet ass." He lets out a laugh and shakes his head before hitting the ball.

He admires his shot before taking the seat next to me. "That's how it's done."

"Oh is it?"

"Mhmm."

"Good to know." I take the snapback off of his head and I put it backwards on mine, how he's been wearing it all day. "Maybe it's the hat."

He runs his fingers through his hair to push it out of his face. He holds his camera up to take a picture and I smile. "That was a video. So fucking cute." He kisses me. I start to stand up but he pulls me down and kisses me again, longer this time. "You know, for good luck."

I smile and stand up to get in position. The ball is dispensed and I put it on the tee. "I have a good feeling about this one."

"Get ready, folks, this is the one!" I set up in front of the ball and without any hesitation I hit it. The rink of the club hitting the ball echoes through our bay. The ball soars through the air. That was a solid hit. I throw my arms up in victory. "OH!" Tyler exclaims as he stands up to continues taking video. "That's my girl!" He hugs me. "Great shot. Must have been the hat." He kisses me and takes the hat off of my head and puts it back on his.

"You got that on video right?" I have to make sure that is proof of my awesomeness because I doubt I'll be able to hit it like that again.

"The whole thing. I'll send it to you."

The food is delivered and we sit down to take a break and eat. I am a lot hungrier than I thought I was. The smells coming off of the food is orgasmic at this point. The cocktail I ordered is the perfect thing to wind down my day with. Everything would be perfect if I hadn't noticed this table of girls who keep looking over at us and taking pictures. I'm assuming they're Tyler's fans. This has happened only a few times while we've been out together and I'm not quite used to it yet. It makes me uncomfortable. I'm going to try to ignore them and not let it ruin my night.

After we eat I go back up to take another turn. I am really getting the hang of it and am having a blast. This is so much better than the putting green in Tyler's backyard. I am still horrible at that. I step up to the tee and get ready to take my shot. I can hear Tyler quietly giggling to himself behind me. I feel something poke my butt and turn to see Tyler's club. "Oh my god, Tyler, stop," I say as I push the club away.

"Oh, is this bothering you?" he asks as he pokes me a few more times.

"Stop trying to distract me."

"If I was trying to distract you, you'd know it." I glare at him. "Take your shot. Stop stalling."

"Keep your club to yourself, Seguin."

"Are you sure you want that?"

"You're terrible." He flashes me a cheesy smile. I set up once more. I pull the club back and he sticks his club between my legs and rubs it against my inner thigh. "Tyler!"

He falls over laughing, which is absolutely adorable, but he's being such a pest. "Ok, go, I promise I'll stop."

I hit the ball and sit down. When he goes up for his turn I wait until he's just about to hit the ball and poke him right between the butt cheeks with my club, giving him a little taste of his own medicine. He hooks his shot and glares at me.

"Not so fun is it?"

"We're even now," he says as he sits down next to me.

"You did it to me twice."

I notice the group of girls who were taking pictures of us before have moved to a closer table. I want to say something to him but I don't want to seem like I can't handle his fans. I know this is a part of dating a professional athlete.

"Your turn," he says. I snap my head around. "You ok?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"Are you mad at me? I was just messing around with the club thing. I won't bother you anymore while you're up, I promise."

I cup his cheek and rub his beard. He leans into my hand. "It's not that. I'm not mad. I love when we tease each other."

He smiles. "Ok good. I want to make sure you have a good time."

"I am, Ty."

He leans in and kisses me. I see the girls taking our picture out of the corner of my eye. It's becoming impossible for me to ignore them.

"You're not kissing me back." He sticks his lower lip out, pouting.

"Sorry, it's just that those girls have been watching us and taking our picture for like a half hour."

He looks over at them then at me. "Ignore them."

"I've been trying."

"I don't care if they take our picture. All I care about is spending time with you. Don't let them ruin this. We are having such a great time."

"You're right. I'll try to ignore them. Do you think they'll come over here?"

"If they've been watching that long, probably not, but you never know. If they do I'll take quick pictures or whatever and they'll leave us alone. Go take your shot." I stand up to take my turn. "You owe me a kiss, by the way."

I smile. "You got it." I bend down to kiss him and he grabs me by the hips and pulls me onto his lap. My legs dangle off the side of his legs and I kiss him, finally I'm forgetting the world around me and it's just us. Finally we break from the kiss. "Wow."

"How about we take a few more turns then get out of here."

"Sounds good to me."

We each take a few more turns and start to get ready to go. Tyler wraps his arm around my back as we leave the bay. We walk past the table of fans and I can hear bar stools scraping against the floor behind us. I tense up, anticipating them coming up to us. He rubs my back to calm me.

"Uh, Tyler?" A voice calls out from behind us.

He sighs and turns around. "Yeah?" They are a group of 5 girls, 3 blonde and 2 brunette, looking like they are dressed for the club and not golf.

"Sorry to bother you. We are all big fans and we're wondering if we could take pictures."

"You haven't taken enough already?" he quips.

"Well. Um..." She looks to her friends for support.

"She means with you," one of them chimes in.

"Sure. Real quick."

All but one take quick selfies with him. He looks less and less interested as each person takes a picture. I can tell he's annoyed, but he still wouldn't say no to his fans. He waits for the last girl to come over to him but she stays where she is.

"You don't want one?" he asks her.

"I didn't want to bother you," she shyly replies.

"Get in here."

He actually attempts a smile with the last girl and he takes the picture for her because she was too nervous to take it. He even mentioned how her hands were shaking, which probably didn't make things any better.

"Thank you so much. Good luck on Saturday."

"Thanks."

"Y'all are so cute together, by the way."

"Thank you!" he says enthusiastically, and looks at me with a smile.

"You're welcome. Oh crap. Bye!" She starts speed walking to catch up to her friends who have left her behind.

He wraps his arm around me and we continue our way out to the parking lot.

"Did you hear that? We are cute together," he says so proudly.

"Yeah, sometimes."

"Sometimes? All of the time."

"Mmm, maybe."

"You're asking for it. You know that, right?"

"You're such a sucker, Ty," I tease, "a tiny compliment sends you over the edge."

"Well, she's not wrong. We are cute." he kisses my temple. "Always."

"I'm still annoyed."

"Let it go. We had a great time."

"Yes we did. I really loved it. We have to do this again sometime."

"Definitely."

"Maybe we can try the mini golf or other games they have."

"We'll come with more friends next time and make it a whole evening."

"I'd like that."

He smiles. "I wish we had more time for things like this."

"I've learned quickly that it makes it even more special so..."

"Yeah."

As soon as Tyler and I get back to my house we let Grace out into the yard and I get her food ready for when she comes back in. Tyler makes himself comfortable on the couch and turns the TV on. After I finish taking care of Grace I sit next to Tyler on the couch and cuddle up next to him. We both settle in and Grace jumps up on the couch and tries to crawl into Tyler's lap.

"No, Grace, I don't think so," I scold.

Tyler chuckles. "She loves me and she missed me."

"There's no room!"

"You're being greedy."

"Unbelievable."

"Please, Amy, pleaaaseeeee let her stay." Both Tyler and Grace look up at me with their pleading, puppy dog eyes. I don't think Grace even knows what she's doing but Tyler sure as hell does, and it's working, it works every time.

"Alright, alright."

He smiles and pets her head. "Do you hear that, Gracie? You can stay."

"Like I had a choice anyway."

"True. I was going to let her stay no matter what."

"I know."

Grace settles in across Tyler's lap, resting her head in mine so we both have her. I lean my head on Tyler's shoulder. He lifts the bottom of my shirt just enough to slip his hand under and traces circles on the skin of my waist with his finger. Her eyes slowly close and drifts off to sleep.

Tyler takes his phone out of his pocket with his free hand and starts texting. "I'm asking Chad if he can watch the boys tonight so I can stay here."

"You just assume I'm going to let you stay here."

"You know you love sleeping next to me."

"Only when you don't hog the bed."

"The boys hog the bed. Not me." He looks at his phone and starts feverishly typing. "Of all the shit I do for these guys, you'd think that watching my dogs for one night wouldn't be a big deal."

"If he can't do it we could go back to your place. I'd have to leave Grace there tomorrow during work, though. I guess unless I drop her off here before I go to work."

"You shouldn't have to do all of that. I'll get him to go over there. I never get to stay here. I want to." He kisses my cheek and goes back to texting with Chad.

"Or we could always go pick them up and bring them here."

He doesn't look up from his phone. "No. Not necessary." He looks up. "It would be nice to have one night of just me and you." He pats Grace on the head. "And I guess Grace too." He looks at his phone one more time before putting it back down. "It's all taken care of. I'm all yours."

"Great." I pull him towards me and kiss him. Grace jumps down off of us while we kiss and walks over to her bed and plops down into it. "I guess she's over us."

"Yup. We are boring I guess."

"I'm going to get a water. Want one?"

"Yeah, thanks." I get up and go into the kitchen to get us some water. "There is a handsome guy being interviewed on Fox Sports right now. Hurry!" he calls in from the other room.

I walk in with our waters and hand him his. "They're talking to Jamie?" I walk around the couch to see his reaction. He's glaring at me and I can't keep myself from laughing. I look at the TV and see Tyler being interviewed after practice. "Oh that guy."

"That's all I am? Is that guy to you?" he whines, pouting his lower lip out. "I'm going to sit with Grace, who appreciates me." He stands up and walks over to Grace's bed and sits down next to her on it. She looks at him, gets up, walks over to the couch, jumps up on it, and lies down next to me. "Are you kidding me? Grace, come back!"

I fall over, hysterical with laughter. "Good girl, Gracie."

"You both are so mean to me."

"Come here, Ty, come cuddle." I hold my arms out for him to come to me.

He rolls his eyes, but stands up and walks over to my outreached arms and hugs me. "You're lucky I like you so much," he says in my ear. He leans on me and straddles me, putting all of his weight on me.

"Oh my god, Tyler, you're going to crush me!"

"Is this uncomfortable for you?" he asks as he pushes into me.

"I can't breathe, get off!" I look over to Grace, who is back in her bed, "Grace, come save mommy!" She doesn't budge.

"She doesn't care. There's no saving you. You're stuck, which means I can do anything I want."

"Starting to lose feeling in my legs."

"I'm not that heavy."

"I'm losing consciousness." I close my eyes and pretend to pass out. He really isn't that heavy, although I can't say that it's comfortable having him on top of me like this. I can handle it for now.

"Oh no. I have to wake her up." I don't know if he's talking to Grace or just himself. I have to fight a smirk. It's cute either way. "I could give her mouth to mouth but no, that's not the way to wake her up." He leans down and I can feel the warmth from his body on my neck, then his breath. I imagine his lips are only inches from my skin. I don't dare open my eyes to peak. I want to grab onto his hips or ass or touch him in some way, but I commit to the illusion that I am passed out. He kisses my neck tenderly and it takes everything in me not to react. Electricity flows through my veins and my toes curl. I haven't had anything like this in a while since he's been on the road. I almost forget why I'm doing this at all."Really? Nothing?"

I can't hold back a smile any longer. "Keep going, I'm almost awake."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" He kisses a trail from my ear and down my neck. His hands slip up the sides of my body. I suck in a breath anticipating the next kiss and his hands moving to my breasts, but that doesn't happen. His hands continue to wander upwards. They wind up in my underarms and he tickles me.

My eyes shoot open. "Tyler!" I squeal. I laugh as he continues to tickle me. I can't move because he is still on me lap. He is laughing as he continues to tickle me. I am hysterical laughing.

"Never call Jamie handsome again."

"I'm sorry! He's not! Now stop!" Usually Tyler on top of me and me in a fit of giggles would cause Grace to spring into action and try to save me, but she isn't having any of our shenanigans tonight. If he was hovering over me I would grab his balls or pinch the inside of his inner thigh to get him to stop but he is right on top of me and I have little room to work with. "I've learned my lesson!"

He kisses my laughing mouth as he laughs too. "Good." He lays back on the couch and pulls me with him. I wind up in between him and the couch and rest my head on his chest as we both recover from the tickle fest. "Cuddles now," he says before kissing my temple. Tyler puts on a movie and we watch with no interruptions. He plays with my hair, which relaxes me.

By the end of the movie I am struggling to keep my eyes open. The day has finally caught up with me. I look at Tyler and his eyes are closed. It looks like he's ready for bed too. "Wanna go to bed, Ty?" He doesn't answer or open his eyes. "Ty, bed." I nudge him a little and he opens his eyes, blinks a few times, and rubs them awake.

"Yeah. Ok. I got sleepy."

We get up off of the couch and walk to my room. Grace follows behind us. Tyler takes his shirt and jeans off and gets in bed. I change into sweatpants and a t-shirt. Grace is surprisingly in her bed and not in mine next to Tyler. I get in bed and lie on my back. Tyler snuggles up to me and rests his head on my chest. It's my turn to hold him. I play with his hair as he tells me more about what I could expect from family skate. It sounds really special and I can't wait to go. I rub his back a bit and my hands go right back into his hair. It doesn't take him long to fall asleep.

I thought I was tired, but I've somehow gotten a second wave of energy. I'm not as sleepy as I thought I was. I watch Tyler sleep and continue to run my fingers through his hair. I am so happy that we got to spend time together today. I feel so much better when I am with him. Holding him like this is one of my favorite things to do. I take my phone out and take a picture of him laying on me, holding onto me, looking so content.

I send a text to Faith.

_I think I'm in trouble._

_Are you ok? Where are you?_

_I'm fine. I'm home._

_Then what's the problem?_

_I think I'm in love_

_Sweetie, that's not a problem_

_What if he doesn't feel the same way?_

_He does._

_How do you know?_

_I can just tell._

_Shit. I'm totally in love._

_Congratulations._


	16. I'm glad we found each other

It's been one of those days where I wish I've won the lottery so I could tell my boss to shove this job up his ass. Five o'clock can't come soon enough. It's bad enough my coworkers won't leave me alone about Tyler, then I have all of this extra work dumped on me, which isn't even work I usually do. My boss has been breathing down my neck about it and I'm doing the best I can but that doesn't seem to be good enough for him.

After Tyler complained about the lack of pictures in my cubicle I went to Walgreens and had a few printed out so I can put them in frames on my desk. Whenever I feel like I'm going to lose it I look at the pictures and smile. I have some of me and him, some of Grace, and his boys as well. I did like having my privacy and people not knowing much about me, but having them here with me is way better.

I take a picture of the framed pictures on my desk and send it to Tyler.

_Seeing you is making this day bearable_

_You put pictures up! :) But what's wrong?_

_Rough day. I wanna go home._

_I can come over later if you want_

_No, that's ok. I know you have a game tomorrow._

_Let me rephrase that. I'm coming over later._

_OK_

_I'll bring dinner_

_Thanks, you're the best_

_He sends me a selfie he took with Gerry. He wanted to send you this to cheer you up._

_Aw, thanks Gerry, it did cheer me up_

_I'll be cheering you up in a few hours_

_I can't wait. I'll talk to you later. I gotta get back to work. So busy._

Not only did I have a day from hell, but my boss asked/demanded that I stay late and I got caught in so much traffic on the way home. At this point it's not dinner that I need Tyler to bring me but alcohol, and lots of it. The only thing that saved me today was Tyler texting me cute pictures of him or the dogs and sometimes it was him and the dogs. I don't know what I'd do without him.

I pull up to my house and Tyler is sitting on my front stairs waiting for me. The Eatzi's bags are on the porch next to him. I smile as soon as I see him. He stands as I pull into my driveway. I can't get out of the car fast enough. I speed walk over to him and hug him so tight. He hugs me and strokes my hair as he showers my cheek with kisses. All of my stress and worries immediately go away. I rest my head on his chest as we stand on my front lawn hugging.

"And you didn't want me to come over," he finally says.

"You sure do know how to ruin a moment."

He kisses me on the lips. "Better?"

"So much better."

He picks up the Eatzi's bags and I unlock the door. Grace is waiting for us when we step inside. She probably saw Tyler pull up and has been wondering why he wasn't going inside to see her. She walks over to us with her tail wagging.

"Hey, Gracie," Tyler coos as he squats down to pet her.

"I was thinking that I should get a key made for you so you don't have to keep waiting outside for me."

He looks up at me as he continues to pet Grace. "Sounds good. I should probably get keys made for you too just in case I need you to watch the boys. This way you don't have to deal with Chad." He stands up and we start making our way into the kitchen.

"He's not that bad."

"You could also use them any time you want. You know, like, if you're missing me and want to sleep in my bed. Or if you want to use the pool and send me pictures of you in your bikini." He smiles and raises his eyebrows up and down. I laugh. "Or if you know I'm coming home from a long road trip and you want to surprise me by waiting for me in my bed naked."

"Do all of your scenarios involve me being undressed?"

"Most of them, yeah."

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure." He puts the bags on the table and lets Grace out into the backyard. It's funny how automatic it was for him. I didn't even have to ask. "I'm going to change. I'll be right back."

As soon as my butt hits the bed my body screams for me to lie down. The bed is calling for me. A nap sounds like what I need right now, but I can't. Tyler brought dinner and I'm sure it's already cold or at least on its way to becoming cold. It's just that the bed is so comfortable and I had such a rough day.

I finally will myself off of the bed and change into sweatpants and a tank top. I plan on coming right back to the bed as soon as we finish eating.

"Are you coming or do I have to eat all of this by myself?" Tyler yells from the other room. He's so impatient.

I join him in the kitchen and sit down at the table. "I didn't take that long."

"Long enough."

"My bed wanted me to lie down. I had to fight it."

"Cuddles in bed after dinner it is then."

I smile. "That sounds fantastic."

"So tell me what happened today."

"It was just one of those days where I sat there thinking is this really my life? This is what I've chosen to do for a living. My boss gave me all of this extra work that I have no experience doing so I'm a little slower at it and he gives me shit for it. I'm doing my best but I feel like I'm getting nowhere."

"I'm sorry. That sucks. You should be doing something that makes you happy. I hate to see you like this."

"You're so lucky you get to live out your dream and do what you love."

"We all have rough days and it's hard work."

"Yeah but the good outweigh the bad. The hard work is worth it."

"You can change if you want to. Make it happen for yourself."

"The sad thing is I have no idea what it is I want to do. I know it's not this, though."

"You'll figure it out and when you do I'll be there to help you any way I can."

"Thanks, Ty." We start eating and it's so good. This is exactly what I needed. "I don't think I've ever been disappointed with food from Eatzi's. This is amazing."

"I was telling them about you today."

"You were?"

"Yeah. Usually I go in there and order one meal so when I ordered two they asked me about it. They said oh two today? Have someone special in your life? And I said yes, very special. And I told them all about you and your rough day and how I had to cheer you up. Long story short, they want to meet you."

"They do?"

"Uh huh."

"Are you sure you want to? That's a big step in a relationship, meeting your Eatzi's staff."

He glares at me. "Shut up. I'm in there all of the time. They know me. I see them more than my own family."

"Ok, Ty, I can meet your Eatzi's family."

"You're one to talk. Everyone at Chipotle knows your usual so don't start."

"Sometimes I change up my order."

"Mhmm, sometimes you don't get chips." He gives me a sassy smile before taking a bite out of his grilled chicken.

"I bet they have your salmon meal all ready to go for you on game days."

"That's different!" He throws a grape tomato from his salad at me. It bounces off the table in front of me and I catch it before it falls on the floor, not that Grace would mind.

"Ok. Ok. We both like what we like and we don't usually stray from it."

"Exactly."

"Next time you have a game on the weekend I'll meet you there then we could go back to your place to eat."

He smiles. "I'd like that." He picks up another grape tomato and carefully aims, his tongue slips out of his mouth and off to the side, and he lobs it across the table in my direction. It lands right down my shirt and in my cleavage, I'm assuming that's where he was aiming it to go. He smiles wide. "Nice." I reach into my tank top, grab the tomato, and pop it into my mouth. "Hot."

I roll my eyes. Guys are so weird sometimes. "Did you pick up anything for dessert? I'm craving something sweet."

"Nothing for me, but I know how much you love their creme brulee and eclairs so you might want to look in the fridge."

I get up and walk up behind him and wraps my arms around his neck. "You're the best. Thank you so much." I kiss his cheek and walk over to the fridge to get my desserts.

"Feeling your boobs on the back of my neck was more than worth it."

"Oh yeah?" I walk over to the table and press my boobs against the back of his head then rest them on top of it. He wraps his arms backwards and around me and grabs onto my ass. He tilts his head up and kisses my breasts over the tank top. I lean down and kiss him quickly. That can't be a comfortable position. He slaps my ass as I walk back over to my seat. "You're in a mood today." I sit down and open the boxes.

"I'm always in a mood."

"I guess that's true." He nods in agreement. "Want a bite of any of this?" A mischievous smile crawls across his face. "Of this creme brulee, dirty boy."

"Maybe just a bite." I get a forkful of the delicious cream, making sure to include a bit of the caramelized sugar top, and I feed it to him across the table. "Heaven, right?"

"That is very good. Dangerously good."

"I know. It's a good thing they only make it in a small size." I finish up my creme brulee and move on to my eclair.

"I know how you feel about their red velvet cupcakes, but you haven't gotten that in a while."

"I'm sure it had nothing to do with the shape and the fact it has a cream filling."

"No," he says while giggling.

"I'm not sure I believe you but I don't care. It's so good."

"Is it taking your mind off of your shitty day?"

"Yeah it is."

He smiles. "I've done my job then."

"I'll clean this up then we can go cuddle."

"Stay right there. I'll clean this up."

Once the table is clear Tyler and I head to my bedroom. The bed is still calling my name and all I want to do is lie down with him and relax. Grace walks with us and lies down at the foot of the bed. I get in bed while Tyler takes his shoes and hat off. He grabs the TV remote, turns the TV on, and gets in bed. He holds his arm out for me and I snuggle close. This is what I have been needing all day. All of my stress and worries go away when I am in his arms.

"I'm going to close my eyes but I'm not going to sleep. I just need to rest my eyes right now."

"If you need to sleep don't fight it."

I can't believe how perfect life has been since I met Tyler. He has brought this happiness into my life that I didn't even know was missing. I love him. I know I love him and even though he hasn't said it to me with words I know he loves me too. I thought it would bother me that he hasn't said it yet, but it doesn't. In the past I've always needed verbal validation. Always had to make sure that we were on the same level and feeling the same things. I needed to heard the words because I couldn't feel it. With Tyler I feel it and I know it by the way he looks at me, cares for me, hugs me, kisses me, everything. The words will come one day but until then I'm going to enjoy the feeling. Being with him is effortless because the love is just there. It has been since the day we met.

"Am I a good boyfriend?" he asks after I don't even know how many minutes of silence there's been.

I open my eyes and look at him. He's already looking at me. I wonder if he had been watching me the whole time. "Of course you are. Why would you ask that?"

"I just want to make sure I'm doing a good job. I'm new at this and I want to make you as happy as you make me."

"That's so sweet, Ty."

"Disgusting, right?"

"Not disgusting at all. You are an amazing boyfriend. Don't second guess yourself. I am the happiest I have ever been and it's all because of you."

"If I'm not doing something I'm supposed to or you need anything from me just let me know. I'm so oblivious when it comes to stuff like this. I'm not used to feeling like this, so unsure of myself. I hate it."

"Don't worry. You're doing better than you think. There's no need to be unsure of yourself."

"Ok, good." He kisses me and starts to pull away but I grab the back of his head and pull him back in for more. We break from the kiss and he kisses my forehead, his lips linger for a few moments. "You make it easy, you know, to be a good boyfriend. I'm glad we found each other."

"Or that Gerry found Grace."

He smiles. "Right."

"Thanks for coming over. I was being stubborn."

"Yeah you were. I wasn't about to let you come home and be miserable. We gotta find something better for you."

"I got you. That's all I need."

"So corny." He pulls me close for a hug and squeezes me.

"You love it."

He kisses my cheek then nibbles on my earlobe. "Don't tell anyone."

"Your secret's safe with me."

I settle down and rest my head on his chest. I close my eyes and listen to his breathing as I begin to relax. He runs his finger tips up and down the skin on my shoulder and arm. His chest shakes while he laughs at something on the TV. I'm too exhausted to open my eyes to look at what he's watching. I'm not really paying attention to the audio but the sound of his laughter brings a smile to my face.

After Tyler and I cuddle for a few hours it's time for him to leave. He has a game tomorrow so it wouldn't be practical for him to stay over and I have work. It's always so hard to say goodbye to him. The only thing that makes it somewhat bearable is the fact that I'll be seeing him after his game tomorrow. I can make it through 24 hours. I think.

I walk Tyler out to his car. I want to spend every moment I can with him. It's chilly out tonight and I didn't put a hoodie on before coming out here so I have visible goosebumps on my arms. Tyler leans back against the car and I shiver from a chill going up my spine. He pulls me up against him and rubs his hands up and down my arms to keep me warm.

"What were you thinking, crazy?" He asks as he opens his hoodie. He tries to wrap it around me but both of us don't quite fit in it.

"I forgot how cold it was outside. It's so nice in the house." I hug him. "I hate it when you go."

"I know. I'll see you tomorrow, though. I'll make sure I say hi during warm ups."

"Ok. I guess I'll let you go."

"Oh you guess, eh?"

"Uh huh."

"Get some sleep. I know you're tired."

"Text me when you get home. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

He kisses me a few times before hugging me tight. I rest my head on his chest. We could do this all night if one of us doesn't pull away.

"I hope you have a better day tomorrow. Sweet dreams. Or naughty ones. Only if I'm in it though."

I laugh. "You're ridiculous. Bye."

I start to walk away but he grabs my hand and pulls me back and kisses all of my troubles away. By the end of the kiss we are both out of breath and I am no longer cold. I am definitely going to be having naughty dreams tonight.


	17. Family Skate

Tonight is family skate. Family skate where the whole Stars organization gets together and celebrates the holidays. I've met everyone for the most part but that hasn't stopped me from being a little nervous. I stare at my skates that are on the floor next to Tyler's. My nemesis. I'm more worried I'm going to make a fool out of myself than anything else. I've been Tyler's girlfriend for a few weeks now and everyone has gotten used to the fact he's in a committed relationship. It's not as much of a shock as it was at first. I've been welcomed into the WAGs club with open arms. I really don't have anything to worry about.

"Are you excited?" Tyler asks as he walks out of the master bathroom. I'm sitting on his bed waiting for him to finish getting ready. I swear he spent more time on his hair than I spent on mine.

"A mix of nervous and excited."

"There's nothing to be nervous about. This is the most chill night of the season. Everyone loves you." He sits next to me on the bed. "It's going to be so much fun."

"You're right. I need to stop worrying."

"Yes you do." He kisses the tip of my nose and smiles. "You look beautiful, by the way, everyone is gonna be so jealous."

"Thanks, Ty, but no they're not."

He furrows his brow. "Well they should be."

"You're looking pretty spiffy yourself, Segs."

"Oh, it's Segs tonight?"

"Just preparing myself."

"It's so much sexier coming out of your mouth." He nibbles on my neck.

I pat his thigh. "Down, boy, let's get going."

Winter Wonderland is the theme of family skate. It's more like the North Pole threw up all over Dallas. They even managed to have the ground snow covered from a snow machine. To most of these guys, being from colder climates, it's no big deal but I have to admit I'm geeking out a bit over there being snow. Tyler watches me in amusement as I bend down to touch the snow and grab a handful of it.

"Wow that's cold."

"It's snow, babe, of course it's cold."

"Don't make fun of me. I rarely see snow and it's never like this." There is probably a good 2 inches of snow on the ground. There are still pathways that we can walk through so our feet aren't covered in snow, but most of the ground is covered. I've never seen anything like it.

He defensively raises his hands in the air. "I didn't say anything."

"Your tone said it all."

He drops his arms to his side and giggles. "It's cute."

"Don't patronize me."

"It is cute! You are cute." He kisses me. "Come on, let's take a look around."

We walk around, taking in the scenery and talking to whoever we come across. Tyler introduces me to the few people I haven't met yet. He was right. It is a very relaxed environment. It is a party, after all, I don't know why I was thinking different. After only about 20 minutes I am much more comfortable than I was coming into it.

Some players and their families get out onto the ice right away but most are still looking around or talking amongst each other. A lot of the kids are exploring Santa's village. Santa isn't there yet but I heard he's going to be making an appearance. That should be fun to watch.

Jamie walks over to us and wraps one arm around Tyler and one arm around me and squeezes us in some attempt at a hug. "Merry Christmas, Seguins!" he cheerily exclaims. Katie, his girlfriend, is behind him silently apologizing for him.

"You too, Chubbs," Tyler replies, muffled by Jamie's arm in his face.

"Merry Christmas, Jamie," I say.

"Isn't this amazing?" he asks as he looks around in wonderment.

"They did a good job."

"We're going to check out Santa's village. Talk to you later." Before we can reply he turns around and wraps his arm around Katie's back. She looks back over her shoulder and tells me we will talk later. I just recently met her, but we hit it off right away.

"Did he just call us the Seguins?" I ask. That was a weird encounter. Jamie's usually a lot more reserved.

"Yeah. I've learned it's best just to go with it when he gets like this."

"Is he drunk already? We just got here."

"Not drunk on alcohol, more like drunk on Christmas."

I laugh. "Oh. That's cute.

"It's not that cute."

"Whatever you say, Ty."

"Are you thirsty? I can get us something to drink."

"Yeah, iced tea would be great, thanks."

"Go mingle. I'll find you."

Tyler walks over to the drink bar and I start to walk around a bit more. I spot Taylor and Stephen and make my way over to them to say hello. Taylor sees me and holds her arms out for me to hug her. I hurry my pace and hug her when I get over to them.

"Hey, guys, merry almost Christmas," I say.

"Same to you," Taylor says, "where's Tyler? Lost him already?"

"He's getting drinks. He should be back soon."

"Are you going to skate?" she asks, "I saw you were practicing the other day."

"I'm still trying to decide. I do have my skates here."

"You should," Stephen says, "the more you do it, the easier it'll become."

"You sound like Tyler."

"Don't ever say that again," he jokes in his usual deadpan delivery. If you didn't know Stephen you'd think he was one hundred percent serious, but I know better.

I smile. "Wouldn't dream of it." He smirks, but only slightly.

Tyler joins us and hands me my iced tea. He's drinking a Bud Light. He wraps his arm around my back and pulls me close to him. "I should have known you two would find each other." It is no secret that Taylor is my closest friend out of all of the wives and girlfriends.

"Of course," I say with a smile.

He kisses my cheek then looks at Taylor. "Sorry to tear her away from you. I'm sure you'll catch up later."

"No you're not. Don't lie," Taylor replies.

Tyler smiles. "You're right. I'm not. See ya later." Tyler pulls me away.

Taylor calls out to him, "Make her got skating!"

We walk over to our table and sit down. "She must be a mind reader because that's what I was bringing you over here to talk about," he says. He points to the rink and I look. "A lot more people are skating. It's better we do it before we eat than after. I know you, you definitely won't want to after."

"Yeah, probably not."

"So let's go now." I hesitate before answering. He speaks up before I do. "You don't have to skate if you really don't want to. I'm not trying to force you to do something you don't want to do. I do think you'll regret it if you don't, though."

"I just don't want to suck."

"But you do it so well." He smiles wide and tries to stifle a giggle but is unsuccessful.

I just shake my head and smirk at him. I am not one bit surprised he took it there. I should have known better and been more careful with my words. "You're ridiculous."

"In all seriousness, though, no one is going to judge you. You really have nothing to worry about. I want to have this moment with you." I look at him and contemplate what I want to do. "Please?"

"Ok, yeah, I want to skate with you too."

He smiles wide. "Awesome."

He helps me get my skates on and ties them. "You don't have to help me anymore."

"I know, but I want to." He finishes tying my laces and leans in to kiss me. I smile bashfully, like this is the first time we've kissed. I think it's because I wasn't expecting it and he's being really sweet. He smiles back at me. "That was cute." The way he's looking at me tonight gives me butterflies in my stomach like I've never experienced before. I've never seen this look before.

"You're cute." I run my fingers through his hair, pushing it back on his head. He leans his head into my hand and grins. "Ready to get out there?"

"You're rushing me now? You didn't even want to."

"Hurry up, Segs," I tease as I nudge him.

"Ok, ok, pushy."

We walk over to the edge of the rink and I am about to step onto the ice when Tyler shoots his arm out to stop me. "Just so you know, the ice at these things isn't as smooth as the ice..." I step out onto the ice and skate a few feet with no issues. "...at the Stars Center." He follows after me. "That was great!"

"Thanks!"

He takes his phone out and takes a picture of me. "She's a pro," he says as he types out the caption.

He takes my hand in his and we skate around. For the first time since I started skating I feel comfortable on my feet. Maybe I will actually get the hang of this after all. I try to take in as much as I can while we skate around. I like watching how all of the other couples and families are with each other. It's reassuring that they all know how I feel. We are all in the same boat. Of course everyone deals with it in different ways. Being a hockey couple is not easy, but it's worth it.

It is hard to look at everyone else, though, when I have Tyler right next to me. He has not taken his eyes off of me and he's been smiling from ear to ear the whole time. He encourages me the whole time, telling me how much of a great job I'm doing. It sounds unnecessary, but it's not. I need it.

Alexander Radulov skates passed us carrying his son, Makar, in his arms. Alex says hello to us and continues skating. Makar looks back at us as Alex skates away and I wave to him. He waves back before shyly burying his face in Alexander's hair.

"Looks like little Rads has a crush," Tyler notes.

"He's very cute. I love those curls."

"You love my curls too, right?"

"Of course. Your curls are my favorite curls."

"Better be."

"Jealous of a three year old, are you?"

"Not at all."

"No. Of course you aren't." I smile.

"You're skating so well," he says, trying to change the subject. "I'm proud of you. I am a good teacher."

"The best teacher."

Taylor and Stephen skate over to us. "You got her to skate!" Taylor exclaims.

"Yeah. We were just talking about how well she's doing. I taught her everything she knows," Tyler boasts.

There is some kind of commotion coming from the other side of the ice where all of the younger guys have gathered. It catches all of our attention and we look over in that direction. I can't make out what's going on so I divert my attention away. I don't care all that much. Tyler and Stephen continue to watch.

"I'll be right back," Tyler says as he lets go of my hand.

"You begged me to skate with you and now you're bailing? Rude."

"I'll be right back. Promise. I wanna see what's going on."

He skates over to where the other guys are gathered. "I can't believe him," I complain, "Ok, maybe I can. He's so damn nosey." Both Stephen and Taylor laugh.

"I should probably go save them from him," Stephen says. He skates away.

"What just happened?" I ask.

"Looks like we are on a date now," Taylor says as he holds her hand out for me.

I take her hand in mine. "So sweet."

We skate around a little bit until Taylor's skate hits a divot in the ice and she loses her balance. I try to hold her up, but I'm unsuccessful. We both go tumbling to the ice and land on our butts. Both of us start laughing as soon as we hit the ice. Tyler and Stephen rush over to us as soon as they see us fall.

"Are you ok?" Stephen asks Taylor.

"Yeah, good, no worries."

"Ok, see ya!" he starts to skate away.

"Hey!" she yells to him. He stops in his tracks and skates back.

Tyler looks visibly shaken as he looks at me with worry in his eyes. "Are you hurt?" he asks me.

"No, I'm ok."

Tyler reaches his hands down for us and pulls both of us off of the ice.

"Steve, even Tyler's more of a gentleman than you," Taylor cries.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Tyler asks.

"Stop being such a good guy off of a sudden, Segs, you're making me look bad," Stephen says.

"All of a sudden? I hate you guys," Tyler whines.

"You're a great guy always, Ty," I say as I rub his chest reassuringly.

"Thank you." He kisses me.

"Get a room, you two," Taylor teases.

Tyler smiles and looks over at her. "Later. Don't worry about that."

"Ew I wasn't."

"Come on, let's let these two lovebirds be," Stephen says as he wraps his arm around Taylor's back and guides her away from us.

Tyler holds onto my hips and leans down to kiss me. "Ready to sit down for a while?"

"Yeah I think so. My ass is wet, though." He smacks my butt and you can hear the smacking sound. He giggles. "There are children here." I shake my head and put my hand over my face.

"I'll see if I can find you a towel."

We sit down at our table and change back into our shoes. Tyler gets up and goes on a quest to find a towel for me to wipe my wet pants off with. It looks like they are getting ready to serve food. I can't wait. I am pretty hungry.

Alex and Makar sit down in the seats directly across from us at the table. Makar keeps acting shy and hides behind Alex's arm, peeking out at me every few seconds. Alex says something to him in Russian, which makes him hide even more. "He thinks you're pretty," Alex says to me.

"Thank you, Makar." Am I really blushing because a three year old thinks I'm pretty? Yes I am.

"Where's Segs?"Alex asks.

"He went to find me a towel. I fell on the ice and got wet."

"You have to be careful."

"I know. I know."

Ben Bishop, his wife Andrea, and their baby take the seats to my left. The table is filling up and Tyler still isn't back. I wonder if he got lost. John Klingberg and his girlfriend Fanny take the last two seats at our table. I stand up to look around to see if I can spot Tyler. Finally I see him making his way back over to me. He holds up his hand, which is holding a towel, and smiles proudly. I give him a golf clap. In the other hand he has something that I can't quite make out. He takes a bite out of it. Of course he found food.

Tyler gets back to the table and hands me the towel. "Here, wipe your ass." His eyes go wide when he realizes that there are children at the table. "Butt. Wipe your butt." Ben and Andrea awkwardly look away and try not to show that they're smiling. Alex bursts out laughing.

"You're so embarrassing. You didn't have to say anything at all about it."

"You're welcome, by the way, I had to convince someone in the kitchen to give me a towel."

"Thank you, Ty, you're my hero."

He smiles. "The food smells great, can't wait to eat."

"You're eating now."

"This? This is a snack, not food."

I roll my eyes at his ridiculousness and he takes his last bite, exaggerating every chew. My face turns pink from embarrassment as now all eyes are on me while I try to dry off my wet butt. This is way worse than the actual fall. I feel the need the explain myself, but I don't I can't decide which is worse, the reason for the fall or the fact that I'm standing here trying to dry my butt off.

"Guys, I know it's nice but quit staring," Tyler says, just when I thought he couldn't get any more embarrassing. I put the towel down on my chair and sit on it. Tyler throws his arm over my shoulders. "Did I come through? Or did I come through?"

"You did, Ty, thank you."

"I am the best boyfriend, aren't I?" John scoffs and Tyler glares at him. "Don't be jealous, Klinger."

"That is not a problem, Segs," John retorts with a smile.

"Of course you are, Ty," I say. Tyler sticks his tongue out at John. "How does it feel to be the only couple at the table without a child, John?" Everyone at the table laughs, including Tyler who tries desperately to fight it but is unsuccessful.

"I am perfectly fine with that," John replies.

He leans over and whispers in my ear, "nice, you made them laugh," which takes me aback, I am used to Tyler quipping back when I tease him. This is new.

"No comeback?"

"None needed, it was funny. You got me. The guys all loved it too."

I know that it's important for Tyler for the guys and their families to like me and for me to be accepted. He's sitting up so proudly, like I actually accomplished something important, all I did was make them laugh. It seems to mean something to him so I don't question it.

Dinner conversation flows smoothly and there are a lot more laughs had at our table. Tyler and John were in a chirp contest at one point and the rest of us just sat back and enjoyed the entertainment. I got to talking with Andrea a bit, which was nice, we haven't had much time to sit down and get to know each other before this. Every once in a while I catch Makar looking over at me and he turns away. By the end of our meal he started to get more comfortable with me and would wave to me.

"You better watch out, Segs, he's out to take her," Alex said at one point.

To which Tyler replied, "Sorry, bud, I don't share."

There is a little time between dinner and dessert so Tyler and I stand up to walk around for a bit. We each grab a cup of coffee to keep us warm. The temperature has dropped a little bit and it's chilly. Tyler and I walk a little and lean forward against the fence that surrounds the ice rink. Some of the kids are out there skating already.

"Are you having a good time?" he asks.

"Yeah, the best time."

"I still hope that I'm doing ok at this whole boyfriend thing."

"You're amazing, Ty."

"I hope so. You deserve amazing. You deserve more than amazing."

"I've got it."

"I honestly had no idea I was capable of feeling like this."

"Like what?"

"Well. I, uh, I've never said this to anyone before..." before he can continue something hits him in the back of his head. Tyler and I look behind us to see Jamie laughing. He had thrown a snowball at him. "Hold this," he says as he hands me his coffee. He makes a snowball of his own and chases after Jamie. Jamie bolts away maniacally giggling.

I didn't realize until now that my heart was racing, still is. I also didn't realize that Katie took the spot next to me that Tyler was in moments ago. I turn to her slowly, wide eyed from the shock I still feel.

"Are you ok?" she asks.

"I think he was just about to tell me he loves me."

"Really?" I nod my head yes. "I'm guessing he hasn't said it yet to you."

"No, not yet. This would have been the first."

"Shit, I'm sorry. Jamie, he's like an overstimulated puppy around Christmas time. He loves it. I'll have a talk with him."

"No that's ok. You don't have to. It's fine. I know that Tyler loves me."

"I'm sure it would be nice to hear it from him, though."

"I guess, yeah." I'm downplaying it. I would have loved to hear him say it. I don't want to make a big deal of it, though. Going with the flow has served me so well up until this point and that's not going to change now.

She puts a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "Hang in there. I'm going to make sure those two idiots don't hurt themselves."

Katie walks away, leaving me with my thoughts. I breathe a deep sigh. There definitely is a side of me that wants to grab Tyler and make him continue what he was saying. Katie is right, it would be great to hear him say it. Dwelling on it is not going to make anything better. At least I know he's ready to say it.

After a little while I realize that I've been standing in one place by myself for way too long. Tyler hasn't come back yet. I decide to go sit down at our table. Andrea is there alone with the baby. I take him from her so she could have a break for a little while. She gets up to try to find out where Ben went. She thanks me for taking him before scurrying off. I'm sure she appreciates the momentary freedom.

One of my favorite things about babies is how easily they are entertained. I love baby giggles so I make funny faces and sounds to make him laugh. The way they throw their head back with laughter as if you're the funniest thing on the planet warms my heart. It's so pure. I find myself laughing along with him. How could I not?

"Do you think your mommy and daddy are coming back or did they leave you with me? I wouldn't mind if they did," I coo at him. I get a little bit too close and he grabs onto my nose. "Ok, that's attached to my face. You can't have that." I hold his wrist and put his little fingers in my mouth and pretend to bite down on them with my lips covering my teeth. "Baby fingers are my favorite. Yummy." He laughs so hard he almost falls over to the side, luckily I have a good grip on him so he doesn't go anywhere.

"Did you kidnap a baby?" Tyler asks. I didn't even know he was standing there. I look up at him and he's looking back at me amused. His hair is a little wet, I'm assuming from snowballs melting in it. His hoodie looks a little wet in places too. He bends down and kisses me before taking the seat next to me.

"I think the Bishops may have left. I was just telling baby Ben, here, that I'd be ok with that. Right, Ben?"

"Oh no no no. Don't be getting any ideas. I know your clock thing is ticking or whatever, but no way, not any time soon."

I laugh, then baby Ben laughs. "Do you think that's funny?" I ask him in my baby voice. I turn my attention back to Tyler. "My biological clock is just fine, by the way. How was your snowball fight?"

"Good. I nailed him a few times. Got him right in the face once. He got me a few times too, though."

"I can tell." Tyler reaches his finger out to Ben and he grabs onto it. "He may try to put it in his mouth," I warn. "Do you want to hold him? My arms are getting tired."

"Um, sure."

I hand Ben over to Tyler and stretch my arms out on front of me. What a relieving feeling. Tyler starts making faces at him like I was doing before. Ben smiles. "I got him to laugh," I brag.

"Well you are pretty funny looking," Tyler quips then giggles. He always gets so proud of himself when he thinks he's being funny.

"Meanie," I pout.

"You know I think you're beautiful."

"Yeah I know."

Ben starts making noises at Tyler, trying to get his attention. Tyler looks down at him."What's that, bud? You think she's beautiful too? Back off she's mine." He looks up at me and smiles. He looks down at Ben and starts talking to him in a baby voice. "You're gonna be a big ole giant like your dad, eh? Scary, tall, lanky giant."

"You don't talk to a baby that way. Give him back to me."

Tyler hands him back to me while saying, "he knows I'm just joking, don't you, Ben?"

I sit Ben back on my lap and he leans back on my arm. "Oh man, if he falls asleep I'll never be able to get up."

"You're a sucker. They're not coming back."

Ben starts grabbing at my shirt. "What's up? You sleepy?" I reach over him to get my phone so I can take a picture of him and Tyler starts giggling like a mad man.

"I don't think he's sleepy." He continues laughing. "Oh come on, bro, those are mine. You have your own."

"What are you talking abo..." before I can finish my sentence I feel wetness on my chest. I look down to see Ben trying to get his mouth on of my breasts. "Oh. Uh. Sorry, Ben, you're not going to be getting anything out of there. Let's find your mommy." I stand up.

"You can't blame the kid for going for it. What a stud."

"You're ridiculous. I'll be right back."

After I find Andrea and Ben and give them their baby I head back to the table where Tyler is waiting for me. We stand up and walk around the Winter Wonderland some more. The temperature keeps slowly dropping so Tyler makes sure to keep me close to him. He's always so warm. It's not uncomfortably cold but there is a chill in the air.

"I wish you weren't going to Port Leches for Christmas. I really want you to meet my mom and sisters." I try not to laugh but I can't help myself. I laugh. "What's funny about that?" he asks, sounding offended.

"Neches."

He looks at me confused. "Huh?"

"It's Port Neches, leche is milk in Spanish."

He rolls his eyes. "Well I don't speak Spanish so how was I supposed to know?"

I laugh again. "You're adorable. But, yeah, I wish I could meet them too. This is the only time the whole family gets together, though."

"Oh, I understand, I just wish there was time for both."

"They want to meet you too, you know. We will have figure it out at some point."

"That's what the summer is for, making up for lost time."

"At least you and I will have our own little Christmas together."

He smiles. "You don't know how much I am looking forward to that."

I rest my head on his shoulder. "Me too, Ty."

He kisses the top of my head. "I'm almost done getting all of your presents. I can't wait."

"Please don't get me too much. I can't do the same for you."

"I don't want anything from you. Just you. That's all I need, time with you." He kisses my lips. "I am going to spoil the shit out of you and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Oh really?" I say as I step up to him chest to chest.

"Really," he says as he sticks his face in my face. Only a few seconds go by before both of us start laughing. He wraps his arms around me and kisses me. "Tell me who is going to be there. I know Chuck has like 80 siblings, right?"

"Five, but you were close." He shrugs and smiles. "Everyone is going to be there. All of my aunts and uncles, my cousins, their kids. It's my grandmother's favorite time of the year. The whole family comes over and she gets to love on all of us."

My dad has 5 siblings, three sisters and two brothers. He is the middle child, his brother and one of his sisters are older. They all grew up in Port Neches, which is about 5 hours from Dallas. My grandmother still lives in the house they grew up in. We lost my grandfather a few years ago so Christmas is even more special than it used to be. A few of my aunts still live close by, but my grandmother loves when we are all together under one roof. We'd all live there with her if she had it her way.

I have 18 cousins. I am the only one of us who is an only child. My dad would have loved to have more, but my mom took that away from him by leaving. I am pretty close with a lot of my cousins so it never really feels like I am an only child at all. We don't get to see each other as often as we'd like, but we always keep in touch. We have a cousins group chat that keep us caught up with each other's lives.

"That must be a good time. I know you're looking forward to seeing everyone."

"Yeah. I can't wait. It's always a bunch of laughs."

"Next year maybe all of us can get together at my place, or your grandma's, we wouldn't mind traveling for family."

"That sounds great, Ty."

"How is Chuck around all of that family?"

"He absolutely loves it. He's still dad, though, more of an observer than anything. He likes to take it all in."

"I have this image of family man Chuck in the middle of all of the conversations all happy smiling and shit."

"Sometimes, yeah, he can be that too."

Tyler smiles wide. "I knew it. Big softy."

"Yeah but he'd kill you if you told anyone."

"You wouldn't let that happen, though, right?"

"Of course not."

We make it all the way around the property talking about Christmas and family. We stand at Santa's village for a little while to watch the kids take pictures with Santa and tell him what they want. I could probably stand here all night and watch the cuteness unfold but we move on and go back to the table to sit down for a bit. I am having such an unbelievably great time with Tyler. My office Christmas party is coming up, but Tyler is going to be on the road so he won't be able to go. This will be the only party we will be at together until New Years.

It's so cute to see the players with their kids. Hockey can be such a rough sport and you don't get to see this side of the guys too often. A few of the guys are back out on the ice with their kids. A lot of them have been playing in the snow. Tyler is also so cute with the other player's kids. He is a big kid himself, after all. The Hamhuis girls have been following him around and he's been trying to hide from them. I've been watching this adorable game of hide and seek for way too long, but I can't stop watching. He is so great with kids. It's one of the things I love about him.

I notice Makar walking towards me holding something rather large and I don't make out what it is until he gets closer. Somehow he has gotten away with grabbing the entire tray of Christmas sugar cookies off of the dessert table and is now walking towards me with it. He has a look of focus and determination on his face as I'm sure he's trying desperately to hold it steady and not drop it. This is not a small tray of cookies, especially compared to him, so it's actually quite impressive he's made it this far. It is also completely adorable and I make sure to take video to capture it just in case nobody else sees.

Once he gets to me he holds the tray out for me and I take it from him and put it on the table. He climbs into the chair next to me, sits up tall and proud of himself, and smiles. "That's quite impressive, Makar, carrying that whole tray by yourself from all the way over there." I'm not even sure he understands everything I'm saying, but he's looking right into my eyes so at least I know he's listening. He picks up one of the cookies and shoves it into my mouth, it crumbles into pieces since I wasn't ready for that. "Oh, thank you. Let's try again." I open my mouth wide for him to feed me another cookie and he does, gentler this time. I gobble it up and he giggles. "What a sweet boy, bringing me all of these cookies. I think I'm good now, though."

"Cookie," he says as he picks another cookie up. I think he's going to eat one himself but he feeds it to me. I oblige because how could I say no to that cute face and the giggle once I gobble it all up just like the first one.

"Thank you. Now it's your turn." I pick up a cookie and hold it out for him to take. He takes it from me, but then starts to reach over and feed it to me. "Another? Ok." I open my mouth and gobble it up once again. He laughs while he starts to grab another cookie. "Are you going to try to feed me the whole tray?"

"Cookie, babe," he says as he puts it in my mouth.

I burst out laughing, getting crumbs all over the front of my shirt, and trying not to choke on the parts of cookie that did make it down my throat. He must have picked babe up from Tyler at some point. He doesn't call me that too often, but it had to be enough times for Makar to pick up on it. "Babe, eh? Listen to you, smooth talker." He feeds me a few more cookies and I'm not sure how much I am going to be able to eat. They're very sweet and I have already eaten way too much tonight. I look down at my shirt, which is full of crumbs. "Wow, I am a mess." I start to brush the crumbs off and Makar starts to help me by doing the same. "You are such an attentive guy. You're going to make someone very happy one day."

"What the hell is going on?" Tyler exclaims. I look up to see him standing before us with his arms crossed over his chest. Alex joins him and starts laughing. He says something Makar in Russian and Makar laughs. "I don't know what you said, but knock it off. That's my girl." Makar continues to brush off the crumbs that are no longer on my chest and smiles. "Control your son, Rads."

"He has good taste. What can I say?"

"Aww, thank you, Alex," I say, appreciative of the compliment.

"No! No "thank you, Alex"." Alex and I both laugh. How is it possible that Tyler is upset at this? It's not like one of his teammates is making a pass at me. "Is it too much to ask for all of the little boys to back off my cougar?"

"Relax, Ty."

"I haven't even touched your boobs today. How is that fair?"

I put my hand over my face as I'm sure I am now 500 shades of pink. "Oh my god, Tyler."

Alex laughs so hard he has to brace himself by placing his hands on his thighs. I don't think I am ever going to be able to show my face again. I would say I can't believe he said that, but I can, Tyler has no filter. Alex picks up the tray of the rest of the cookies and he and Makar walk over to the dessert table to return it to where it was. Tyler sits down in the chair next to me. "I can't leave you alone for more than five minutes I guess. Savage children, all of them."

"You are so embarrassing sometimes." He smiles, like it's something to be proud of. "We should take a picture with Santa." He just looks at me with one eyebrow raised. "Oh come on, it'll be fun."

"I don't know."

"Jamie and Katie did it."

"Jamie and Katie are nerds."

"Please, Tyler? Please, please, please? You owe me."

He looks over where Santa is set up and then back at me and smiles. "Ok."

"Yay! Thank you." I throw my arms around him, squeezing him in a hug.

By the time we make it over to Santa's Village there isn't much of a line. Most of the people who wanted pictures with Santa have already taken them. I have been back and forth about it since we got here but I figured why not? It'll be a cute picture and a nice memory with Tyler. I'm actually surprised he gave in so quickly. Maybe I can ask Santa for more time in the week to spend with him.

Tyler marches up to where Santa is sitting. "I'm sitting on his lap. I don't know where you're sitting." Tyler sits down on one of his knees.

"There's room for two," Santa says in his jolly old Saint Nick voice as he pats his free thigh.

"Are you sure, Santa?" I ask. I doubt two grown adults sitting on his lap will be comfortable.

"It's fine, young lady," he replies.

I sit down on his other thigh. "Is this ok?"

"Why don't you kids tell Santa what you want for Christmas." I have to hand it to him, he is very dedicated to staying in character.

"I got it right here," Tyler says as he looks at me and smiles.

I smile, blush, and look down. I wasn't expecting him to say something like that. I thought he'd make a joke or be goofy. I look up and both of them are looking at me, waiting for my answer. "Oh, um, time. More time with him. An extra day in the week, maybe. Is that possible?"

"I'll see what I can do," Santa says, "you two are very sweet with each other."

"Thanks, Santa," Tyler says. He takes his phone out. "She wants a picture so selfie time." Tyler holds out the phone to take a selfie but it's hard to fit all of us it it. He takes the selfie but neither of us are happy with it.

I see Jamie and Katie have stopped to watch us. I wonder how long they've been standing there. "Katie, can you take the picture?" I ask as I hold out my phone.

"Of course." She walks over and takes my phone from me and takes a few pictures before handing it back to me. "Very cute."

Tyler and I thank Santa and get up off of his lap and join Jamie and Katie. Jamie is smirking like he is amused. I guess seeing Tyler sitting on Santa's lap isn't something Jamie was expecting to see tonight.

"This is it, eh, Segs?" Jamie asks.

Tyler smiles and nods his head yes. "Yeah, it is."

"Feels good?"

"Amazing."

I look at Katie to see if she knows what they're talking about and she shrugs. Both of us are lost and the guys seem to be speaking in code.

"Amy, can I talk to you for a second?" Jamie says.

"Uh, sure."

"Over there?" He points to a spot out of the way from everyone.

"What's up, Chubbs?" Tyler asks.

"Nothing. I just need to talk to her for a second. Don't worry about it."

Jamie and I walk over to the side and out of the way. "Everything ok?" I ask, a little confused as to why he wants to talk to me privately. We have talked here and there, but usually in a group setting.

"Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to apologize for the whole snowball thing. I didn't know something that important was going on."

I sigh. "She told you? I told her not to say anything. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal, though. It's a big deal hearing it from anyone, but especially Tyler, someone we thought would never actually settle down."

"I know. I don't mind waiting until he's absolutely ready, though."

"It's ok to want to hear him say it, Amy. He needs to man up and tell you how he feels. You have a right to know and you have the right to want to know."

"I'm trying to just let things be. No expectations. It'll happen when it happens. I'm good with that."

"Bullshit. When you love someone, you want to tell them so and you want to hear that they love you too. Don't act above it all. You're allowed to be vulnerable. Listen, we all know how he is and how he used to be. We also know that he's crazy about you."

"I just don't want him to say it because he thinks it's what I want to hear. I want him to say it when he's ready. I've been down that road before and it doesn't end well."

"Do you honestly think he wouldn't mean it? You're smarter than that. He's a chicken shit, but he loves you."

"I know he does. I can wait."

"You shouldn't have to. He was about to say it, right? He's ready. He should have run back to you and said it, but he hasn't has he?"

"No, but..."

"It shouldn't be this difficult but you know what's best for you and your relationship. I didn't pull you over here to lecture you. I care about him and that means I care about you as well. You two stubborn idiots deserve each other." He smiles and I laugh. "Again, I'm sorry I ruined it."

"I appreciate you apologizing and caring about us. It's all good, though, you didn't ruin anything."

"Ok then. You should get back over there, I don't think he's stopped watching us the whole time."

I look over at Tyler and wave to him. He rolls his eyes and reluctantly waves back. "Are you guys done?" he yells over to us.

"She's all yours, Segs," Jamie says as we make our way back over to him.

Tyler wraps his arm around my back. "Damn right she is." Jamie slaps Tyler on the back a few times before meeting back up with Katie. "Ready to head out? I'm kinda over this."

"Yeah, I'm ready."

We gather up our things that we left at the table, say goodbye to a few people, and head out to the car. I have my conversation with Jamie in the back of my head but I'm not going to dwell on it. The way things have been is working for us.

"I can't wait to get home and snuggle with you for the rest of the night."

"Snuggle, huh? I'm sure that's what's on your mind."

"It is. Today was one of my favorite days and I want to end it by holding you in my arms."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"Who are you anyway?" I tease.

"I'm not sure but I like him." He smiles then kisses my forehead. "Let's get going."

As soon as we walk into Tyler's house from the garage all four dogs run up to us and compete for attention from the both of us. Tyler and I do our best to make sure everyone gets equal love from us before taking them outside to the backyard to go potty. I pour a few bowls of food for them to they can eat when they come inside. I take my coat off before plopping down on the couch and turning on the TV.

Tyler and the parade of dogs come inside and Tyler joins me in the living room. He stands in front of me, grabs the remote from the coffee table, and turns the TV off.

"Hey! I was watching that," I say as I try to grab the remote but he grabs onto my wrist.

"I told you we are snuggling." He bends down and picks me up, draping me over his shoulder.

"I can walk!"

"Nope." He slaps my ass.

"Tyler!" I squeal. He giggles as he starts running to the bedroom. I bounce up and down as he runs through the house and I start laughing along with him. "Gently, please," I say as he stands in front of the bed. He throws me down onto the bed, not gently.

He jumps onto the bed and onto me. "Sorry, that was harder than I thought it would be."

I smile. "Never apologize for it being too hard."

He laughs and buries his face into my neck. "You're so naughty. I love it." He gets up off of me. "Change into pajamas, I don't plan on leaving the bed once we get in it. I'm going to turn off the lights in the house and I'll be right back."

While I change into my pajamas and Tyler turns off the lights and sets the alarm for the night the dogs start to trickle into the room one by one. I wonder how many will try to sleep on the bed and how many will give us our space. Grace seems to prefer sleeping in the dog bed when we sleep over Tyler's. She's only slept in bed with us a few times. Gerry always sleeps in the bed unless Tyler kicks him out. Cash is wishy washy, I never know what he's going to do. And Marshall usually will sleep on the dog bed. He does feel needy more often than Grace, though.

I lay down on the bed and Gerry joins me. He rests his head on my stomach and looks at me with his big lab eyes. I pet his head and he closes his eyes. "I have a feeling daddy isn't going to allow this once he comes in here. Enjoy it while you can."

Marshall and Cash walk into the room followed by Tyler, who has changed out of his clothes and is only wearing boxer briefs. "Gerry, off, not tonight," he says sternly. Gerry lets out a sigh and doesn't move. "Gerry down. Go sleep with Grace." Tyler only has to nudge him a little before Gerry gives in and jumps down off the bed. Usually it's more of a wrestling match to get him to move so I'm surprised he gave in so easily.

Tyler gets in the bed and snuggles up to me. He rests his head on my chest and throws his leg over my legs. He grunts a few times and tugs at the bottom of my shirt. "Problem, Mr. Seguin?"

"I don't want this shirt on. It needs to go."

"Lift your head." He does as I say and I pull the shirt up and over my head. He rests his chin on my chest right in between my breasts and he looks at me. I can't even imagine how unflattering his view is right now. "Your beard, Ty." His beard is scratchy against my skin.

"Sorry, but I'm not moving." He kisses one breast and then the other. "Mine." He rests his head on my breasts, using them as a pillow, and drapes his arm over my stomach.

"You know nobody actually tried to take me from you, right?" I ask as I stroke his hair.

"Doesn't matter. Still mine."

"Of course I am. That has never been a question."

"Speaking of questions, I have one. What did Jamie talk to you about?"

"Oh. Um. He just wanted to apologize for interrupting us when we were talking."

"He had to pull you aside to say that?"

"Guess so."

"Weirdo. I told you he's a nerd."

"A nerd that cares about his friends."

"Still a nerd."

"What you asked Santa for Christmas, that was really sweet of you, Ty."

He turns his head slightly to look at me. "Well it's true. I didn't think I'd miss you as much as I do when I'm away. I'm not really used to it yet. I don't know if I ever will be. How do the other guys do it? How do they do it their whole careers?"

"It takes a lot of sacrifice and compromise and teamwork. That's what they tell me. Communication is so important too. As long as we stay dedicated to each other it'll be ok. I miss you like crazy too. I feel like we've been doing a good job at making sure we make the most of the time we have together, though."

He sighs. "Yeah. We are a pretty badass couple."

"Ok, that's not what I said but yeah we are."

"I wish I could give you that extra day."

"We have today. Right now. I'll take whatever time I can get with you."

"You're special, you know that? I've never met anyone like you. I didn't know it was possible to feel like this. I thought I'd be single for so much longer. I never really wanted to settle down, but you changed all of that. I'm becoming a better man because of you, for you. I was going to say this earlier but then we got interrupted, and then we didn't have a perfect moment again after that. Now seems perfect, though." He lays on his side, propping his head up in his hand with his elbow resting on the bed, and looks me right in the eyes. "I love you."

I smile the biggest smile I have ever smiled in my life. I smile so wide it hurts. "I love you too, Ty."

He smiles an equally big smile. "I didn't really think I needed to hear it until now. Wow."

"I kinda figured that's what you were going to tell me earlier but I wasn't one hundred percent sure and I didn't want to rush you or force it. This was perfect."

"I don't want you to think I was scared to say it. Ok, well, maybe I was a little...a lot. But I was more scared that once I said it I'd fuck it all up. What if things change? Like, what if I look at someone the way I shouldn't? What if I say something stupid without thinking? What if I hurt her? What if I wake up one day and this isn't what I want anymore? Or what if she wakes up and this isn't what she wants anymore? All of these things I've been thinking about and that's why I haven't said it sooner. I've known since almost the beginning that this is different than anything I've ever felt before. It's not something I was looking for, thought I wanted, or thought I needed. Then you came along."

"Sorry about that."

"Oh shut up. You're the best thing to ever happen to me."

"You are too."

"There have probably been thousands of times I've almost told you but I held myself back and I shouldn't have. I should have told you the moment I knew. I'm going to have to make up for all of those times now. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you..."

I stop him with a kiss. "I know. You don't have to make up for all of the missed opportunities because you already have."

"Is there something you want from me that I'm not already giving you? Besides more time. You know I would if I could. I hate being away from you and I really hate missing you, but you're worth it. Any time we spend together is worth it even if it's just a phone call or FaceTime call. I live for those moments with you. There's got to be something more I can give, though."

"All I want is for you to stop second guessing yourself. You are not the person you used to be. You can trust yourself to be a great guy because that's what you are."

"I want to believe that."

"Well you should. I knew that you loved me early on. I also knew that it would take some time for you to say it. I was ok with waiting because I knew it would be worth it when you did. As long as you kept making me feel loved, that's all I needed. You have made me feel so loved. I knew that in time, on your own terms, you'd find the words and then and only then would it be the perfect time."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. People ask me aren't you nervous or aren't you scared that he's going to cheat or leave? And I always tell them no. I've never been scared. You wear your emotions on your face. Your eyes tell your truth. I've always known that I have nothing to worry about because of the way you look at me. Your actions are what makes it what it is. Words are just words."

"Why can't I come up with romantic shit like that?"

"Because your specialty is ruining romantic moments, you goof."

He smiles. "You love me anyway."

"Yeah I do. You're lucky."

He rests his forehead against mine. "I know I'm lucky."

He cups my chin and kisses a trail from my temple down my face and finally to my lips where he continues to kiss me softly and tenderly. Softly and tenderly soon turns into fire and passion. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me up against him. Electricity flows through my veins as my skin touches his. He pulls my sweatpants off. He smirks when he sees I'm not wearing any panties. It's not like I thought they had a real shot of staying on tonight. He grabs onto my ass and pulls me closer. He lets out a moan. "Fuck, I love you," he says into my ear as I grind against him. I knew we wouldn't just be cuddling tonight.


	18. Our Christmas Eve

Grace watches me as I stuff wrapped dog toy after wrapped dog toy into a bag. She knows what's in there. She saw me wrap them. I think she's mad I'm not letting her play with them. It's not like she hasn't gotten dozen of new toys for Christmas. Between my dad and myself alone she has gotten enough new toys to be enough for a few litters of puppies. She's so spoiled. That doesn't even count my friends who also always buy her something. She really doesn't need any more. These toys are for Gerry, Marshall, and Cash. I think I went a little overboard. Toys, treats, the whole works. I do the same thing with Faith's daughter. I spoil the crap out of her too.

"Do you think Tyler is going to be upset I bought more for the boys than for him?" Her tail wags at the mention of Tyler's name, as usual.

Today is like our Christmas Eve, only it's a few days after actual Christmas Eve. Tyler has spent time with his family and they've gone back to Canada already. I had a few days with my family in Port Neches and am obviously back home now. Tyler and I will have a nice dinner together tonight and open presents tomorrow. I have off from work for the rest of the year, but we have to work around Tyler's practice schedule. We've gotten it figured out, though.

Gifts (dog and human), wine from dad, desserts from Faith, and clothes for the rest of the year. I actually had to make myself a list to make sure I don't forget to bring anything. I have everything packed up and ready to go. Now I just have to get it all into the car, along with Grace. Luckily I only have to make one trip since all of the gifts fit in one bag and I was able to fit the clothes I need in a duffel bag that I am able to sling over my shoulder. I just have to trust Grace not to get distracted and run away since I don't have her on a leash. I can't believe how much stuff I am bringing considering it's only two people and four dogs.

I send a text to Tyler when I'm close since we didn't really have a set time for me to show up. He wasn't sure when he was going to be getting home from practice so we decided "any time after one" would be fine. I didn't think of it until it was too late but I should have come early, while he was still at practice, so I could put the presents under the tree before he got home. My car in the driveway would have been a dead giveaway that I was there but it still would have been a nice surprise.

Tyler and the boys are waiting outside for me when I pull up. Grace knew where we were going when we were still a few blocks away and has been whimpering to get out of the car ever since, but now she is on all fours trying to scrape her way out of the window. "Grace, if you break that window, I swear," I warn. It's not like she understands what I'm saying anyway, or is even listening to me. I pull up the driveway and she starts barking as Tyler starts to walk towards the car. "Yes, I know you love Tyler. I do too, but you need to calm down."

Once I park Tyler opens the door and unhooks Grace from her tether. Grace bursts out of the car and starts to jump up and try to kiss him. Tyler squats down and lets her lick him all over his face. Gerry bounces around them and tries to get in on the slobber fest. Marshall and Cash saunter over to me with wagging tails. "Hey, boys, Merry Christmas," I say as I pet them. "Looks like your brother doesn't love me anymore."

"Any. Excuse. To. Kiss. Me," Tyler tries to say through fighting two tongues from going into his mouth while he talks.

"I understand. I'd take any chance to kiss you myself. Too bad your lips are being hogged."

He looks up at me and smiles as he pets Graces head. She has calmed down a bit but Gerry is overstimulated and is now propped up on Tyler's thighs and kissing him like he hasn't seen him in months. Tyler tries to dodge him a few times but Gerry nudges him with his big ole lab head and almost knocks Tyler out. "Gerry, enough. Enough. You're going to break my nose."

Tyler pushes Gerry off of him, stands up, and hugs me. Gerry jumps up on me and tries to lick my face. Standing up he's just about tall enough to do so. "Sorry, Gerry, daddy gets kisses first," I say.

Tyler exaggerates an offended gasp. "Can you believe her? Such a mean Amy," Tyler teases with a big, goofy smile on his face.

"I could give Gerry kisses now if that's what you really want." I start to turn away from him but he pulls me back around and kisses me. I smile in the kiss and we pull apart. "Thought so."

"Can I help you with any bags?" he asks as he follows me around my car and to the trunk.

"Yeah, that would be great. It's kind of heavy."

He laughs. "Why did you shove everything into one bag? Two bags would have been just fine."

"I didn't want to make more than one trip." He grunts a little as he lifts the bag up and out of the trunk. "I know that is not too heavy for you. I know how much you can lift."

He smiles wide and scrunches his nose. "So heavy," he whines.

"I was able to carry it just fine. What does that say about you?"

"That I have a stubborn, lazy girlfriend."

He laughs as I slap him in the arm. "You suck. It's Christmas. You're supposed to be extra nice to me."

"You know I love you." He kisses me.

"You know, saying that won't get you out of every hole you dig yourself into."

"Most holes, though, right?"

I roll my eyes. "Let's get inside. We have to put those desserts in the fridge."

"Desserts?" he asks as he practically sticks his head into the bag. All four dogs surround him and try to stick their heads in too.

"Faith made desserts. Way too many. But she insisted I take them. I know you don't really eat sweets, and I have been trying to cut back so I'm not sure what we are going to do with them all."

"It's Christmas," he says matter of factly. "Oh my god, so good, what is this one?"

"Did you really eat one already?" I wasn't paying attention. My back was to him while I got my duffle bag out of the car.

"Tastes like eggnog," he says, still with some in his mouth. "Is it eggnog?"

"You probably had the mini eggnog cheesecake."

"Fuck, that's good. And there's more?"

We start to actually make our way inside. "Yeah. Sugar cookies, which don't need to go in the fridge, and mini gingerbread cheesecakes and pumpkin pie squares too."

"Oh. Wow. You're right that is a lot."

"She's like Jamie when it comes to Christmas so..."

"Oh, so, absolutely insane. Got it. Thank her for me. That was really nice of her."

We put the mini cheesecakes in the fridge once we get inside and I put the container of cookies on the island in the kitchen. Tyler picks it up and puts it onto the coffee table in the living room. I guess he doesn't want to keep them too far away from where we will ultimately be winding up sitting for the night. He joins me in the kitchen and I hand him the bottle of wine that my dad bought him and he puts it in his wine fridge.

"I probably shouldn't put the dogs' presents under the tree," I say as I look into the rest of the contents in the bag.

"Not unless you want them to open them tonight...right away."

"I'll put them on the dresser in the bedroom when we get up there. Until then, they can stay here on the counter. I can put yours under the tree now, though."

I take the boxes out of the bag and carry them into where the tree is set up. He already has my gifts under the tree for me. He watches me as I put the presents down. The dogs walk around, sniff and investigate them, but they quickly grow bored and walk away. I try not to notice but there are more there for me than I have for him. I know I shouldn't compare numbers, it's not about that, but I can't help myself.

"That's not everything," he says as he wraps his arms around me from behind.

"What? No. Tyler, that's plenty. I told you not to go crazy."

He chuckles and kisses my cheek. "This is not crazy. I haven't even begun to crazy. Relax. Most of them all go together so technically they count as one. There's just one more in the closet, which reminds me, don't look in my closet."

I sigh and mumble, "my gifts are stupid."

He spins me around to face him. "Hey, no they're not. I don't know what they are but I know they're not. I bet yours are amazing and thoughtful and come from your heart. I told Santa all I wanted was you so you've gone crazy too. I didn't want you to buy me anything."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I can't wait for you to open them."

"We are going to have a great Christmas together. That's all I want. And bonus, you're off all week so I get you all to myself then too. So, Santa delivered. I would say we should leave some of those cookies for him, but Christmas Eve was a few days ago. Oh well, more for me."

"For us."

"You wanted some? You should have had Faith make you some then."

"Those are for the both of us, you pain in the ass."

He picks up the container from the table and plops down on the couch, resting the container in his lap. He puts his arm out, signaling for me to sit down next to him so I do. He wraps his arm around my back and I snuggle up close to him. The dogs all find their spots to settle down in. Gerry is on the other side of Tyler on the couch, Marshall is curled up at my feet, Grace and Cash are on the floor looking out the window. Tyler turns the TV and scrolls through Netflix to look for a movie for us to watch.

"I thought you would be sick of sugar cookies since you ate half the tray at the party," Tyler says, continuing the cookie debate.

"True. I've been making sure to go extra hard at the gym and to not eat any more sweets until I'm balanced out again." I pause for a second. "And it wasn't half the tray."

He smirks. "So you didn't eat any sweets at your grandma's? I find that hard to believe."

"After new years I'll cut out sweets."

He laughs and kisses my temple. He opens the container, takes out a snowman shaped cookie, and hands it to me. "I'll let you have one of my sugar cookies."

"Wow, one, you are too kind."

He stops scrolling. "Want to watch Home Alone? They have both on here. We can watch both then we can go out to dinner."

"Yeah, I like Home Alone. Speaking of dinner, I was thinking we stay here and I cook for us. I know how much you love home cooked meals."

"I would love that."

"The only problem with that is I would have to go out to go food shopping because you have nothing here in the house to make a proper dinner."

"Just Favor everything. It's so much easier. That way you won't have to leave the house and we can stay here and cuddle."

"That's a lot of stuff, I'd feel bad."

"That's their job, though. Plus, it's our Christmas. You shouldn't have to go food shopping on Christmas. And it's only Christmas for us and not for everyone else so you don't even have to feel bad. I am a genius."

"You are something, that's for sure."

He hands his phone to me. "Use my app so I can pay."

I would protest and use my phone if I thought that even for a second he would allow that to happen. He'd rather take my phone, break it, and buy me a new one before letting me pay for anything. He starts the movie but we spend the first 20 minutes or so planning our first Christmas dinner together and picking out all of the ingredients we will need. We decide on roasted chicken with some veggies and mashed sweet potatoes along with a side of cranberry almond spinach salad. I have heard stories about how amazing his mom's cooking is and I'm definitely not on her level so we had to go somewhat simple. I know I'll be able to pull this off, I've cooked something similar before. I just want it to be perfect.

"I should also order stuff to make breakfast tomorrow morning. My dad always makes pancakes for Christmas morning so I was thinking of making you pancakes."

"Can it be french toast instead? We can start our own tradition."

I smile. "French toast it is."

After we send the order through it takes everything in me not to text our runner that I'm sorry that it's so much stuff. Tyler wouldn't be too happy about that. He never texts back and forth with them unless there is a problem. I make sure to screenshot the recipes we looked up so I actually know what I'm doing when all of the food gets here.

I rest my head on Tyler's shoulder. It's been a crazy few days of traveling and Christmas and family and all of the things that comes with all of that. Being close to him and in his arms is always so comforting and relaxing. Being here with him and all of the dogs is exactly what I've been looking forward to. He kisses my temple and leaves his lips there for a little bit. He kisses the top of my head then replaces his lips with his chin, resting it on my head. The room is silent other than the sounds of the movie and our laughter once in a while.

The doorbell rings and I regret letting Tyler talk me into Favoring the food. Part of me regrets even offering to cook. I could have suggested we stay in and I wouldn't have to leave the comfort of the couch and his arm around me. He sighs as he gets up off of the couch to answer the door. Gerry follows after Tyler. The other dogs watch him but opt to either stay put or follow me into the kitchen. Grace and Marshall follow me. My two chocolate shadows. Cash is content watching the birds in the backyard.

"And you were worried about carrying two bags in," Tyler says from behind me.

I turn around to see him carrying at least 10 bags. Gerry is trying to stick his head in all of the bags. Grace and Marshall soon join him and try to as well. "Jesus, Ty, why didn't you ask for help?"

"I don't need help." He places all of the bags on the island.

"Is this everything?" I ask. It seems like there should be more. We take everything out of the bags and I put our breakfast ingredients in the fridge then separate the rest of the ingredients by the dish.

"Yup. I apologized for you since I know you were feeling bad. I don't think she cared for it. I think she thought I wasn't being sincere."

"Oh no, how did you say it?"

"My girlfriend feels bad about the size of the order. I hope it wasn't too much."

"Did you say it just like that?"

"Yeah."

"Oh no."

"Oh no what? That was very nice of me!"

"But you said it with that sassy tone that makes it sound like you are doing her some kind of favor for saying that, like she should be thanking you for being thoughtful."

"Well I didn't mean to. I didn't even know I did it."

"It was a nice gesture."

"Who cares? She probably thinks I'm an asshole now."

"But you don't care what people think of you."

"She may be our runner again at some point and I don't want her to spit in our food."

"I'm sure it was ok. Your heart was in the right place."

"It was." I rub his arm and kiss his cheek.

"I'm going to start getting this stuff ready. The chicken is going to take a while to cook."

He leans on the island on his elbows. "Need any help?"

"If you want to make the salad and put it in the fridge until everything else is ready that would be a big help. I'll send you the screenshot."

"Good idea. Give me the easy stuff."

"You can mash the sweet potatoes when they're done cooking too."

He smiles. "Yes, ma'am."

Once we get everything prepped, the salad made, the sweet potatoes cooked, I stick the chicken in the oven and set the timer for an hour. We have a long time to wait until the chicken is done but not quite enough time to watch Home Alone 2, so we take this opportunity to take the dogs outside for a bit. It's a nice, brisk night tonight so we decide to stay out with the boys to cool off.

Tyler wraps his arm around my back and leans into me. "Look at those stars up there." He points up to the sky, which is cloudy by the way. Even if the sky wasn't saturated by the city lights I still wouldn't be able to see any stars.

"Oh yeah. I see you, and Jamie, and Alex, and Jason, and Ben." I proudly smile and look at him to show him I know how much of a sarcastic bitch I am.

He pulls his arm from around me and nudges me with his elbow. "Smart ass."

"You can't even see the stars, Ty, what kind of bullshit are you spitting?"

"I was trying to be romantic. You could have gone along with it."

"Try harder," I tease, then immediately burst out in a fit of giggles.

"You think you're so fucking funny. You're gonna get it." He grabs for me but I manage to dodge him and I start running away from him. "Come back here! If you give up now I promise I'll go easy on you!" He calls out to me as he chases after me.

"I don't believe you!"

The dogs notice that we are playing so they start to chase after us too. "You know I'm going to catch up to you and when I do it's all over for you." Gerry starts to jump up on him. "Not now, Gerry. Go get Amy."

"I'm shaking in my boots, Seguin!" Grace and Cash start to chase after me and Cash starts barking. Marshall is the last to join and he starts chasing after Tyler.

"You are going to be shaking when I get to you!"

I can hear him getting closer behind me and I decide to change directions, almost tripping over Grace, but I manage to put a little distance between us. I'm starting to get winded, though, and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold him off. "Truce?" I ask as my sprints have turned into a jog.

"Not a chance."

I continue running until I trip and fall down. I am covered in sand and I realize I fell in the sand trap by the putting green. "Stupid golf!" I yell in frustration. Grace comes over to me to make sure I'm ok.

Tyler is laughing as he jogs over to check on me. "You're ok, right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I lost my footing. I didn't realize it was there."

"Ok. Good." He bends over me and pins me to the ground. "Had to make sure you were alright before I started." Before I can ask him what he's starting he tickles me on my both of my sides. All of the dogs come over and start jumping all over me as Tyler tickles me and laughs along with my laughs.

"Stop! Stop!" I plead. Between the tickles and the dogs all over me, I can't catch my breath. Gerry licks my face and I get a mouth full of tongue. "Gerry! Tyler! Grace, help Mommy!"

"They are all on my side. No one is helping you."

He continues to tickle me and I cannot hold back my laughter anymore. I am belly laughing as the dogs continue to step all over me and try to figure out what's going on. "Tyler, please!" I cry out. Tears are coming out of my eyes I'm laughing so hard.

"Has she had enough?" he asks the dogs, "I think she's had enough." He stops tickling me and pulls the dogs off of me. I sit up and try to catch my breath. "Oh no, you have sand all over your back."

"Can you wipe it off?"

He reaches down for me and helps me stand up. He gets behind me and wipes my back off starting at my shoulders and making his way down. He spends more time on my butt than anywhere then smacks it gently. I look over my shoulder at him. "Don't start."

"I can't help myself." He pulls me in for a hug and kisses my cheek. "Let's go back inside."

When we get back inside I baste the chicken and Tyler works on finishing up the mashed sweet potatoes. The dogs all take their places on the floor, watch, and wait for any kind of food scraps to fall to the floor.

Dinner turned out so much better than I thought it was going to. For some reason I was convinced that I was going to screw something up. Everything was really delicious. Tyler and I pulled it off. I am proud of us. At the last minute I decided to bake some chicken pieces for the dogs so they didn't feel left out. Tyler noted that I was spoiling them. It's Christmas, they deserve to be spoiled.

Getting settled in on the couch is always a chore. You never know where the dogs are going to want to sit and we have to work around them as much as we can. Tyler lies back on the couch and I lie back on him. Grace is on the couch next to my legs. Gerry sits by Tyler's head, restless, wanting to jump up and join us but there's no room. He settles for curling up on the floor beside us. Marshall and Cash have taken over the other couch and finally we are all settled in and ready to watch Home Alone 2.

"We should open one present tonight," Tyler suggests. We are about halfway through the movie and I did notice his attention has started to wander. He's been scrolling around on his phone.

"But that would mean leaving the couch and I'm so comfortable right now."

He starts to wiggle back and forth underneath me. "Comfortable now?"

"You're such a pain!"

He rests his chin on my shoulder and kisses my cheek. "Plleeeeaaaseeee?" he says long and drawn out into my ear.

One day I will be able to resist him and say no. Today is not that day. "One present." I sit up, which makes Grace look back at me. "Sorry, baby girl, blame Tyler." She turns back and rests her chin down on the couch.

"She doesn't seem to care all that much." He slips out from behind me and hustles over to the tree like a little kid. "Don't worry, this is just a last minute little gift I got you. Nothing crazy special." He picks it up and hands it to me. The ease in which he found it makes me think he had this planned all along. He sits down on the floor with Gerry and watches me.

I unwrap the present and let out a chuckle when I see what it is. "Lazy Neck Phone Mount. Trying to tell me something?"

"It's for when we FaceTime. You always say how your arm gets tired. Now you don't have to worry about that. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Thanks, Ty." I lean down and kiss him.

"Plus, now you will be hands free for when we have FaceTime sex."

"We've never had FaceTime sex."

"Not yet. Now we can." He wiggles his eyebrows up and down.

I start to protest but think again. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

"This is why I love you."

"Oh that's the reason?"

"And like a billion other reasons too." He smiles.

"I'm not sure which to give you right now," I say as I walk over to the tree.

"Anything. Close your eyes and pick one."

I don't close my eyes to pick one, but I do scan over my presents and decide which one would be best suited for tonight. He picked a smaller one so I do the same. I pick up the chosen gift and hand it to him. I sit down on the floor in front of him, which makes Gerry shift and rest his head in my lap. Tyler tears the wrapping paper off, revealing the generic clothes box I placed it in. He lifts the top off and looks up at me with an eyebrow raised. "I would think you wouldn't want me to wear pants to bed." He holds up the grey pajama pants with labs all over them, black, chocolate, and yellow, to get a better look at them. He looks around the pants at me. "They're soft."

"It's to lounge around the house in, but more importantly for on the road."

"On the road? I'm not wearing these around the guys. I love them, but..."

"You wear your pajamas around the guys often, do you? I'm just talking about to sleep in."

"I don't wear anything to bed on the road."

"I'm aware, Ty, it's just so you have the boys with you when you're alone. It took me forever to find pants that had the chocolate lab on them. Most of them didn't. I know these aren't really your thing but.."

He stops me by placing his hand on my knee. I look into his eyes. "I love them. They're coming on the road with me from now on and I'll think of you and the boys and Grace when I wear them. I didn't mean to make you think it wasn't a good gift."

"It's just...you're impossible to shop for."

"I'm sorry."

"Also, you always talk about how you can't get the temperature in your hotel rooms right, these are comfy and warm. I may have gotten myself a pair too."

"Put yours on."

"I didn't bring them."

"Why not? I bet you look way cuter in them that I will."

"Wait, wait, wait, did you just admit to wanting to wear matching pajamas?"

"Fuck no!"

"Yes! Yes you did!"

"No! I just want to see you in them."

"I could always go back home real fast and get them."

"No. Stay here with me. It's not a big deal. I'd rather you sleep in nothing anyway."

I roll my eyes. "They're for lounging around in, Ty, I told you."

He takes his jeans off and drapes them over the arm of the couch. He pulls the pajama pants on and stands up. "How do they look? They're really comfortable."

"You look really cute and cuddly."

He smiles. "They're great, perfect for wearing on the road. Thank you." He pulls me up off of the floor and kisses me. He turns around. "How does my ass look?" He wiggles it back and forth a few times.

I smack it, then grab it. "Perfect as always."

He giggles and turns around. "Maybe I do wish you had yours on too."

"I could always not wear anything and we can head to bed."

"That. Definitely that. That's what I want."

As soon as we get into the bedroom my eyes go right to look at the closed closet door. I know there's something for me behind there and I'm dying to know what it is.

"Don't even think about peeking. I know you like to rearrange my closet when you can't sleep and are restless but you can't go in there tonight. It's not wrapped."

He's right. I have this habit of going into his closet and color coordinating everything when I can't sleep at night. It doesn't happen often, but when it does I always go in there to find my hard work reversed. I think he messes it up on purpose because he knows I like to do it. "I won't look. I promise."

"Wake me up if you can't sleep. I'll give you a backrub or something."

"You have practice tomorrow. You need your sleep. I don't think I'll have trouble tonight, though. I'm pretty tired."

Tyler and I get into the bed and tonight all four dogs decide to join us. We agree to let them all stay as long as we could sleep comfortably with them here. Gerry is notorious for taking up way too much space so we are trying to get him to stay at the foot of the bed. Grace has glued herself to my back and doesn't seem to want to budge. It's going to be one of those nights where Tyler and I are going to be pressed up against each other, not that we mind all that much, but it can get a little hot being that close all night.

I get up behind Tyler, spooning him, and rest my head on his pillow with him. "How long do you think this is going to last?" he asks.

"Probably not long. Marshall and Cash usually give up pretty early on."

"I like this, though, don't let go."

I kiss his bare shoulder. "I won't."

It doesn't take us long to fall asleep. It's been an eventful few days and it seems to have finally caught up with us. We figured most of the dogs would jump down, but they don't.


	19. Our First Christmas

Beep. Beep. Beep. Tyler's alarm goes off at 6am. It wakes me up but I refuse to open my eyes. If I open my eyes then that means I'm awake and it's too early to be awake. It's especially too early to be awake on my vacation. Tyler moans and grunts next to me. I feel him sit up in the bed. One or maybe a few of the dogs jump down and leave the room. He leans over the back of me and kisses my cheek. "I know you're awake."

I smile and turn over to face him. I finally open my eyes. I guess I am awake. "I was trying not to be."

"Sorry. You can go back to sleep after I leave."

"If I can fall back asleep. I gotta take care of the dogs then get the french toast started so it's ready for when you get back."

He smiles. "You can get a few hours in before I get back." He gets out of bed and I sit up to watch him get dressed, which is always such a depressing occurrence.

I look around the room to assess where the dogs are. Grace and Cash are still in the bed with me and Marshall is on the floor. Gerry is following Tyler around the room as he puts different articles of clothing on. "Merry our own Christmas, by the way."

"Merry our own Christmas to you too. Sorry I have to work."

"Only for a few hours. We'll have plenty of time when you get back."

The last thing Tyler puts on is a snapback, which kills a little part of my soul every time he covers his perfect hair. I must have made a face because he rolls his eyes. "My hair is a mess. I'll take it off when I get home for you. I promise."

"Ok, Ty, have a good practice."

"Get good sleep. Sleep extra for me."

"Gladly."

Before going back to sleep for a little while longer I bring the dogs out to the backyard and put food out for anyone who wants it. None of them stop to eat, which is surprising, but I guess it's too early for them too. They all follow me back to the bedroom and join me in the bed. I take a video of all of the dogs all around me and post it on Instagram. I do the same on SnapChat. I end the videos with "if it were up to them I'd be sleeping on the floor."

After I wake up I make sure the dogs eat before I take my shower. I eye Tyler's labrador pajama bottoms and make the decision to drive to my place to pick mine up. I know it's going to take some convincing and probably a few promised sexual favors, but I am going to get him to agree to take a picture with me while we both are wearing them.

I change into my pajama pants and sit on the couch in the living room to wait for Tyler's text that he's going to be leaving. I stare at the presents under the tree. I really hope he likes what I got him. I hear Gerry whimpering in the kitchen then I remember that the dog toys and treats I got the dogs are in there. He's probably trying to get to the bag on the island.

"You have to wait until daddy gets home, Gerry," I yell out to him. Gerry mopes into the living room and plops dramatically on the couch next to me. "I know. I'm terrible. Poor Gerry being deprived." I pet his head and he rolls over on his back for a belly rub. "You got over that quickly." A notification comes through on my phone and it's a text from Tyler.

_See you in 20. You don't have to start until I get home if you don't want._

_I'm starving. I'm starting now._

_Ok. See you soon. Kisses._

I burst up off of the couch, which makes the dogs all look at me. Gerry and Grace follow me into the kitchen. We decided on French toast, scrambled eggs, and some fruit for breakfast. I guess technically this is lunch. Brunch. We are having brunch. Not everything is going to be finished by the time he gets home, but most of it will. Once the other dogs realize there's food involved they soon join me. "You guys are all so sweet to offer your assistance," I say as I carefully walk around them, making sure I don't step on any paws.

When Tyler gets home the dogs all greet him at the door with wagging tails. "Hey, puppies," he coos as he starts giving out pets to everyone. "Were you good for Amy?" Gerry starts to jump up on him. "I'm sure you weren't," he says as he pushes him off.

"He was ok. He's very fixated on the toys I got them."

"We forgot to put them in the bedroom. Oops." He walks over to me and snakes his arm around my back and kisses my cheek before resting his chin on my shoulder. "This all smells amazing. Anything I can do to help?"

"Just...stay right there." His beard is tickling my neck in a way that is sending crazy sensations throughout my body. He nuzzles more into my neck and a little moan sneaks out.

"Don't burn the eggs."

"Then stop distracting me." I go back to stirring the eggs around in the pan and Tyler presses himself up against me even closer. He slides his hands up the sides of my body and nibbles on my neck. "This is the opposite of not distracting me." I try to compose myself but it's not easy. I whimper. It's taking everything in me not to turn around and push him up against the island and pull his pants down.

He holds onto my wrist and stirs the eggs for me with my hand. "But it's so sexy when you cook for me in my kitchen," he says into my ear.

"You're killing me, you know that?"

"Mhmm.".

"I'm almost finished, Ty."

"That good, eh?" His innuendo sends him into a fit of giggles.

I roll my eyes. "Best I ever had," I say, trying to sound as sarcastic as possible. I try to fight a smile but the smile wins. He really is so cute. I love his giggles.

He slaps my ass hard enough for the slapping sound to echo through the room. "Doubt that." He pauses for a beat. "Hey! You're wearing your lab pants. I'll go get mine." He sprints out of the room, which sends all of the dogs into a tizzy, and they chase after him. Now I can finish making brunch without any more distractions.

Once we are finished eating Tyler and I clean up after ourselves and head into the living room where the tree is. The first thing I notice is the new item that has somehow found its way into the room, a garment bag that has been draped over an armchair.

"Do you see why I couldn't let you in the closet? It would have given it away."

"I still can't see what's inside."

"I know, but now you're trying to figure it out."

I smile. "You're right."

He returns the smile. "I know I am. I know you so well." He sits down on the floor and props himself up against the couch. "Are you gonna join me?"

"One sec, I gotta get the dogs' presents." I scurry into the kitchen to grab the bag.

"I bought stuff for Grace. That's in the closet too. I'll get them after."

I sit down on the floor next to Tyler and Gerry immediately shoves his head in the bag. "Is that stuff for you?" Tyler asks in his puppy voice. "You're so smart. Who's a smart puppy? Gerry. Gerry's a smart puppy." Gerry starts pawning at the bag. Marshall and Cash get curious as well and start to inspect the bag. "We should probably give them their presents first."

"Yeah, the kids go first."

Tyler stands up. "Be right back. Don't give them their stuff until I get back. I wanna see."

"What do you think he got you, Gracie?" She wags her tail and looks to the door until he comes back. He is holding two dog beds, one in each arm. "What did you do?"

"Sorry I couldn't wrap these, Grace, you don't get to rip any paper open." He looks over at me. "The bed she sleeps on here is all ratty and old. She deserves a new bed. One of her very own. I know the one at your house has seen better days so I figured we could replace both of them at the same time."

"That is so thoughtful, Ty."

Tyler lays one of the beds on the floor. "Come here, Gracie." She stays put and wags her tail. He leans on his knees with his ass up in the air like a playful puppy. He pats the bed a few times. "Come here. This is your bed. Come here, baby girl." Gerry jumps into the bed. "No! No, Gerry. Not yours." Tyler tries to push him away and Gerry jumps right back.

I grab one of the wrapped toys I bought for Gerry and throw it. "Go get it Ger!" Gerry darts after the toy and starts trying to rip the paper off. "Good boy."

"Marshall, is there something in there for you?" Tyler asks in his puppy voice. He reaches into the bag and grabs a toy. He looks at me. "Can I give it to him?"

"Of course."

"What is this? Is this a toy? Is this a toy for Marshall?" Marshall stands up and walks over to Tyler and takes the toy from him and goes back to his spot. Tyler looks in the bag again. "I think there's something in here for Cash too." Cash looks up. "What is this? A ball for Cash? Oh sorry, Daddy ruined the surprise. You don't care, do you, Cash?" He throws the ball and it bounces out of the room. Cash chases after it.

"There are treats and a bunch more toys in there if we need to distract them more."

"I see. Did you buy the whole store?"

"You know I get carried away once I get in there."

"Time to try to get Grace in this bed." He sits down in the bed with his legs sprawled out. "Come on, Gracie, this is your bed. The boys are preoccupied. Come sit with me." Grace wags her tail so hard her whole butt shakes. "Come on. Come lay down." She walks over and curls up in between his legs and rests her head on his thigh. "Good girl, get comfy." He pets her head. "I got her a bunch of toys too, but those are still in the closet. I didn't want the boys trying to claim them as their own."

"We spoil them."

He smiles. "They're our kids, of course we spoil them."

"Since you're unable to move I will get you your presents." I get up and get the box of the rest of his presents and hand it to him. "I hope you like this stuff."

"I'm sure I will but why am I going first?"

"Because this is all I have for you."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know, Ty, just open it."

He just gives me a side eyed glare before tearing the wrapping paper off of the box. I got him a few things and put them all in one box. He pulls one of the smaller boxes out and opens it. It's one of the ties I got him. Part of me has been thinking it's a gift you'd give your dad, but he does wear suits a lot for work and I knew he likes to keep things fresh. The tie is grey with darker grey dots on it. He usually wears more solid ties so I'm hoping he likes it.

He holds the tie up to his neck and lets it dangle down. He looks down to see how it looks on him. "This would go great with a black shirt." This is tie one of three and this is the one I was most worried about because he doesn't own anything like it already, but he seems to like it. "I love it. This is coming on the road with me for sure."

"You really like it?"

"Of course. You have great taste. I love it so much I'll wear it on New Years."

"There were a few ties I liked that I know you wouldn't like. I was having a lot of fun looking."

"You know I'm always looking for new ties for my rotation." He looks into the box. "Is there more?"

"Yeah." I am not worried about him liking the other two ties because I know he will. One of them is a black version of a tie he already has and the other is a solid burgundy tie. That seems to be the only acceptable color other than black or grey but he only has a few in that color so it'll be good for him to have another.

He opens the other two ties and he likes those as well, just like I figured he would. "These are great. Now I have a way to keep you on the road with me as well as the boys. Thank you." He leans over, being careful not to disturb Grace too much, and kisses me.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like them. There's one more thing in there. The envelope."

He reaches into the box and pickup the envelope. "Zion Spa," he reads. He looks up at me with an eyebrow raised.

"It's a men's spa. You're always talking about how you feel like you need to take care of your body more, especially during the season. I figured this was perfect and I know you'd never buy it for yourself."

"I have said that a spa day would be nice."

"I got you the best package so you can experience everything they have to offer."

"Wow. This sounds amazing." He says as he reads the little print out of all the package entails. "Four and a half hours? That is a lot of pampering." He smiles from ear to ear. "I love this. Thank you."

"I know the middle of your season is soon so I figured it would be the perfect way for you to refresh your body."

He looks through the pamphlet that they provided. While he is busy reading I try to sneak a picture that shows the both of us wearing our lab pajama pants. "This place sounds great." He looks up at me and I quickly put my phone down on the floor next to me. "A little upscale maybe? How much did this cost?"

"You can't ask me that."

"Amy..."

"Tyler..."

"How much?"

"There's no way I'm telling you."

He scoffs. Grace stands up and licks Tyler right up the middle of his face. He opens his mouth wide with surprise. "Kisses from Grace! Best Christmas present ever." He kisses her numerous times on her head and on the side of her nose. She gives him a few kisses back before laying on her back for a belly rub. Tyler rubs her belly and talks about how the boys are going to be jealous. They're too busy playing with their toys to notice, though.

"You two are so cute together."

"It's your turn."

"I'm having fun watching you play with her."

"Oh. So you don't want to know what's in the bag?" He points to the garment bag on the armchair.

"Nevermind, I want to know."

"I thought so." He shuffles out from underneath Grace and she turns around a few times and settles back down. He walks over to the armchair and picks up the garment bag. "I really, really hope you like this. If not, we can go back and exchange it. I'm kinda hoping we don't have to, though, as soon as I saw it I knew it was meant for you and you had to have it. Ready?"

I nod yes and he unzips the bag and let's it drop to the floor, revealing a black cocktail dress. It has a slit up the front, spaghetti straps, and it's surprisingly not too revealing. "Oh wow, Tyler." He turns it around so I can see the back, which will show a bit more skin, but it's ok. "I love it."

"Oh thank god. I was worried."

I stand up and walk over to him to get a better view of it. I run my fingers along the fabric to feel the texture. It's so silky smooth. "It's beautiful."

"You're going to look beautiful in it. No. You're going to make it look beautiful."

I smile and blush a bit. "You're so sweet."

"I figured you could wear it to the New Year's Eve party."

"Faith is gonna kill you."

"I know you guys were going to go shopping for one but how could I pass this up? She'll forgive me. Once she sees you in it she will know it couldn't have been any other dress."

"You haven't even seen me in it yet."

"I don't need to." He hangs the dress up to free his hands. "The rest of this stuff Candace and Cassidy helped me with. I don't know anything about this girlie stuff." He picks up one of the boxes and hands it to me. "They may have helped me wrap them too," he bashfully adds.

I open up box after box. Shoes, earrings, a bracelet and necklace, and a clutch. Everything I need to complete my New Year's Eve outfit. I hadn't planned on buying anything else new besides the dress.

"Did I do good?" He asks once I finish placing all of the pieces by the dress to see how well it all goes together.

"Thank Candace and Cassidy for me because I doubt I would have put together a more perfect outfit for the party."

"I picked out the dress, though" he boasts, "the most important part."

I smile and place my hand on his chest. "You did great."

He looks down at me and smiles as he leans in slowly to kiss me. "Ok, great," he says softly before his lips touch mine. He pulls me close as we deepen the kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck and run my fingers through his hair. He kisses the tip of my nose. "I have one more thing." He guides me back to the couch and I sit down. He picks up the last box from under the tree. "I wrapped this myself." It definitely shows but I don't dare say anything. I can tell he tried so hard to make this as perfect as he could. He sounds proud of his wrap job. I'm not going to burst his bubble. "This gift is all me. No help needed."

I unwrap the paper from the box. "An Apple watch." I never expressed interest in wanting one to him but it's always something I look at when we are out. I never could justify buying myself one, though.

"Time. This is the only way I could give you time. I know it's the only thing you really want. It sucks it's the one thing I can't give you, but this is close."

I look at him in awe, not really knowing how to react. I didn't think there would be such a thoughtful reason behind it. I'm a little surprised that such a sentiment is coming from Tyler, of all people. I need to stop being so surprised. All he's ever done since the day we met is try to show me how much he loves me. Out of nowhere, and out of my control, tears start to roll down my cheeks. "I don't even know what to say," I sob.

"You're crying? Don't. Don't cry. I'm sorry?"

He looks lost and confused and perhaps a little terrified that he's made me cry. I'm sure that's not the reaction he was expecting. "That is the nicest, sweetest, most thoughtful..." before I finish my rambling thoughts I put the box on the couch next to me and I wrap him up in a hug. "You're such an amazing boyfriend, Ty, thank you."

He smiles. "Ok, that was more like what I was going for. I didn't know you were going to cry."

"It just came out. I didn't mean to."

He kisses my forehead and looks into my eyes. "I love you."

I smile so wide. I will never tire of hearing those words come out of his mouth. "I love you too. Merry Christmas."

He hugs me and nuzzles his face into my neck. "Merry Christmas." I start taking the Apple Watch out of the packaging so I can charge it. "You really like that watch, eh?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to play around with it."

"Candace and Cassidy were so against it at first. They were all like oh Tyler you can't get her all of that elegant stuff and then a dumb Apple watch. You don't know anything. Blah blah blah. Then I told them the meaning and then they were all awwww. See? I know what I'm doing. I totally nailed Christmas."

"If you want to rub it in their faces that you know what your girlfriend likes tell them I cried."

"Crying is a good thing? Girls are so weird."

I chuckle. "In this context, yes, crying is a good thing."

"Whatever you say, babe. I'm going to text them right now." He starts typing away on his phone and I try to get another sneaky picture that shows that we are wearing the same cute Labrador pajama pants. They're coming out ok but I wish I had one of the both of us in it. Why haven't I trained Grace how to take pictures yet? He looks up from his phone after a few rounds of typing. "They say hi and they really want to meet you."

"I want to meet them too. I need to get all of the embarrassing stories about you from them."

He puts his phone down on the coffee table. "No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"That's not fair. You don't have siblings for me to get embarrassing shit about you from."

"My dad tells you plenty."

"Yeah but he doesn't know the deep, dark secrets that siblings know."

"Thank god for that."

"Speaking of Chuck, I got him something for his man cave."

"Don't you start calling it that too."

"What? It is."

"He's a single guy, his whole house is a man cave."

"True, but especially the sports room. I'm a little jealous."

"Look around. You have nothing to be jealous of."

"Don't you want to know what it is?"

"I'm assuming it's Cowboys related."

"Well, yeah, even though I should have gotten him something Stars related too."

"I'm sure he would have loved a Stars whatever it is."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, he likes you."

"It's hard to tell sometimes."

"Believe me, he really likes you. I think he even watches your games when I'm not there."

"Cool." He stands up. "Let's go see it, it's in the garage."

I stand up as well. "The garage? You didn't get him a car, did you?" My dad's sports room used to be the garage that he converted into his man cave. He has memorabilia from the Cowboys mostly but he does have some other sports in there as well. Cowboys is the main theme, though. We don't use the room to watch games in unless it's the Super Bowl. It's a big tradition to have everyone he knows over to watch the big game on the big screen in the man cave.

"No, of course not, even though I know he wants the Rolls. He can't have it." We start walking to the garage, the dogs get up and follow behind us.

We step out into the garage and Tyler walks me over to a box that he has placed off to the side. It looks to be about two feet high and 3 feet wide. I wonder what it could be. He reaches into the box and lifts out what's inside. He turns around to show me. It's a sign that says "Cowboys Hangout" with the Cowboys logo behind it along with a 3D Cowboys helmet sticking out of the sign. It even says Big Chuck on it. My dad is going to love it.

"Wow, Ty, he's going to go crazy for that sign."

"I thought it would be perfect. I'd totally get one if I had a ma...sports room."

"You can come with me Sunday to see him if you want so you can give it to him."

"He'd let me crash daddy daughter time?"

"I think he'd make an exception for the holidays."

He smiles. "He does love me!"

"You should get him something Stars too. I'm sure he'd be proud to put it on his wall."

"Would a signed jersey be ok? I can get it framed and everything."

"That would be perfect."

"I'll throw in a few of my hats too. He's a big hat guy."

I roll my eyes. "You men and your hats."

He puts the sign back in the box. "You'll help me wrap it, right? You saw how horrible my wrapping skills are."

"Yes, I will help."

Tyler claps his hands together loudly, which gets all of the dogs attention and startles me a bit. "Ok! Everybody out of the garage. We are done in here."

We all shuffle out of the garage. Tyler lets the dogs outside in the backyard and I take the dress and accessories that Tyler got me up to the closet in the master bedroom to hang the dress back up. I notice the full length mirror and decide to take a picture of the dress so I can show Faith. She needs to see the reason I am going to have to cancel our plans to go shopping, or at least change them up a bit. I hold the dress in front of me by the hanger and take a series of selfies in the mirror.

Tyler walks up behind me and we lock eyes in the mirror. We both smile. "You're going to look stunning in that." He comes up closer behind me and rests his chin on my shoulder as he wraps his arms around me. "We are cute."

I lean my head on his. "Yeah we are." I hang the dress up without having to move. He kisses my neck and I sneak a picture of us in the mirror. He smiles into the side of my face and I sneak another picture. "You know how much I love that." I don't know if he would be doing this if he knew I was taking pictures but it's too cute not to take this opportunity to take some. I take a moment to enjoy the feeling of this lips on my neck.

"Mmhmm." He kisses my cheek a few more times and goes back to looking at us in the mirror. "You should take a picture of us. We are being extra cute. I don't even care that we are wearing matching pajamas bottoms."

"Of course you don't. You want to be super cute and matching as much as I do."

He buries his face in my hair. "Maybe."

We take a lot of pictures in the mirror, each one seems to turn out cuter than the last. We have a lot of selfies together, but not a lot of full length pictures so I am in my glory right now. He loves the pajama pants I got him and he loves that we are both wearing them even more. I am definitely going to have to print a few of these out to add to the collection of pictures on my desk at work. The pictures of Tyler and I smiling are definitely my favorite. I love his smile and he is the only one who can put this wide of a smile on my face.

Gerry peeks his head in the doorway and walks in with his tail wagging. "Hey, bud, you want in on the picture? Stand next to daddy." Gerry sits. "Hurry, hurry take it."

I take the picture. "Got it."

"It would be cool to have all of us in the picture. Marshall! Cash! Grace! Come to the closet!" Tyler calls out. None of the dogs come in. We wait a minute or two before he calls out for them one more time and none of the other dogs join us. "Wow. Great listeners we have." He looks down at Gerry. "You're the only one who loves us, aren't you, Gerry?" Tyler scratches behind Gerry's ear.

"I think it's time to head to the media room to watch a movie. I want to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas if that's ok with you."

"Absolutely." Tyler, Gerry, and I start to walk to the media room and the other dogs start to trickle into the room once we settle in on the couch together. "Oh sure, now you come." I lay back on Tyler and he puts the movie on. I take my phone out of my pocket and go through all of the pictures I took in the mirror. I get to the pictures I snuck of me and Tyler. "I didn't know you took those. Let me see." He takes the phone out of my hand to get a closer look. "I love these. I'm sending all of them to myself."

After he sends himself the pictures he hands the phone back to me. "We are pretty cute, aren't we?" I ask as I review the pictures once more.

"Yup. The cutest." He kisses the top of my head. "You can post some to Instagram if you want."

"I don't know if I should."

"Listen, I know I say that I don't want to post anything about us on social media and I just want you to know that it's not because I don't want people to know about us, it's because I want to protect you from them."

"I know, Ty."

"I've seen what they say to people I've been involved with before. It would kill me if they treated you like that. I want nothing more than to tell the world how happy you make me and how much I love you."

"I've been thinking a lot about this in the last few days, actually. I noticed a jump in my followers after Candace, Cassidy, and your mom followed me. I think they're all fans."

"That's what they do."

"I was thinking of removing all of my followers that I don't know and going private. I want to be able to share pictures with the people I know and love."

"You should. I'd feel better."

"I was surprised when they followed me. It made me smile, though."

"I was showing them some of your pictures on Christmas. They were asking about you."

I look up and back at him. "Oh yeah?"

He smiles. "Uh huh." He kisses me. "They still can't believe I'm in love."

"That seems to be the overall consensus."

"I can't believe it myself sometimes."

"I can. You have a good heart. You were just waiting for the perfect person to share it with. I'm lucky that it's me."

"I'm lucky you put up with me."

"That too." I smile.

He laughs. "The one of me kissing your cheek and you smiling is my favorite. You should post that one for sure."

"I will. Let me just take care of these followers first."

I go through the process of removing followers I don't know and placing my profile on private. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but I think it's for the best. I don't want any kind of negativity in my life. I'm sure it will find a way of making its way in. At least this I can control. When I'm done I put my phone down and enjoy the rest of the movie and cuddling with Tyler.

"My mom wants to FaceTime," Tyler says just as we settle in after getting home from going out to dinner. As much as I would have loved to stay in pajamas all day and relax, we started to get stir crazy from being in the house too long.

"Ok," I reply as I walk across the room and to the kitchen to get us drinks.

"With both of us, get over here."

"In a second, you said you were thirsty."

"Always." He proudly smiles and waits for my response. I just shake my head and grab two bottles of Bud Light from the fridge.

I walk over to where he's sitting on the couch. "Do you want to test out that neck mount you got me? I can go get it."

"So you could take a picture of me with it on? No way. That's for you to look like a dork, not me."

I sit down next to him. "Suit yourself. I was just trying to be helpful."

He wraps his arm around my back. "You ready to meet mom?"

"Yes I am."

Tyler calls his mom and her face pops up on the screen. She is already smiling from ear to ear. "Hey, mom, miss me already?"

She rolls her eyes. "I had to see the woman who got my stubborn son to wear cutesie pajama bottoms face to face."

I smile. "Hi, Jackie."

"Hey, sweetie. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Same, I'm just sorry it's not in person."

"In time we will. Are you two having a nice Christmas?"

"Yes we are, mom, the best." He kisses my forehead.

"You don't know how relieved I am to see you like this, Tyler."

"Oh stop gushing, mom."

"I will not. You're my son and I love you."

"Love you too."

"Do you guys have any other plans?" she asks.

"Relaxing the rest of the night. Tyler has his game tomorrow and I'm pretty tired."

"The holidays are always crazy," Jackie says, "It must be nice having this time off, eh?"

"Yeah, the one great thing about working for my company is getting off from mid-December through New Years. The summer hours are nice too. Off early on Fridays all summer."

"How was it seeing your family? Tyler told me it's like a zoo when everyone gets together."

I laugh. "The best kind of zoo. I love when we all get together. I have some of the best laughs of my life when I'm with them."

"That's great. We don't get together often either so we always are sure to make the best of it. Tyler and the girls always keep me laughing."

"Um, hi, remember me? I'm Tyler, your favorite child," he says into the camera, then he turns to me, "and your boyfriend. I'm in this call too." Jackie and I laugh. "Mom, I didn't call you so you two could gang up on me."

"I should let you guys go anyway so you can enjoy the rest of your evening. Amy, it was so nice to get to talk to you and hope we can meet in person soon. Tyler, you hold onto her and don't let go."

He smiles. "I don't plan on it."

"Goodnight, Jackie, it was great talking to you."

Tyler and I both wave goodbye to her and she waves back before ending the call. That was the first time I've talked to her. I can see where Tyler gets his happy-go-lucky personality from. Most of the time I don't think anything of my mom, but every once in a while she pops up in my thoughts. Talking to Tyler's mom makes me see what I have missed not having my mom in my life.

I am broken out of my thoughts with the touch of Tyler's hand on my shoulder. "Did you hear what I said?" he asks.

"No. Sorry. I zoned out."

"You ok?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"What's on your mind?"

"It's nothing."

"You can tell me. I know it's not nothing."

"It's stupid."

"I'm sure it's not."

"It's just...talking with your mom kinda got me thinking about my mom."

"Oh." He pulls me close and kisses my temple.

"My dad did the best job at raising me. I sure as hell didn't need her, you know? But sometimes I wish I had a mom. I feel a little guilty for feeling that way."

"I'm sure Chuck wouldn't mind that you miss her. That's normal."

"It's not that I miss her. I don't remember her to miss her. I just wonder if she thinks about me ever. Does she regret leaving us? What would I be like if she stuck around?"

"You're perfect now so..." He pauses. "I don't want to say the wrong thing."

"I hate her. You don't have to hold back."

"Maybe you'd be different if she stayed. Maybe Chuck would be too. You guys probably wouldn't be as close as you are. Maybe she did you both a favor by leaving. I'm sorry. I'm not sure I actually feel that way."

"Not every mom is as amazing as your mom. You're probably right."

"She's crazy for leaving the both of you. She doesn't deserve you."

I rest my head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Ty."

"You can borrow my mom any time you need one. I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"Ok deal."

"How about we go to bed? Right now all I want to do is lie down in bed with you."

"Sounds good to me."

I change back into my pajamas when we get to the bedroom and Tyler strips down to his boxer briefs. I lie down on my back and he snuggles up to me and uses my chest as a pillow, one of his favorite places to be. I stroke his hair and rub his back, something I know relaxes him. It doesn't take him long to fall asleep. I'm still a little bit awake. I text Faith the picture of the dress because I almost forgot.

_Tyler is sorry he took our shopping day away_

_He bought that for you?_

_Yes. And shoes, a clutch, and jewelry. All for the party._

_Wow. It's hard to be mad at that. Can he teach Scott?_

_Scott needs sisters to tell him what to buy_

_We can still have our shopping day, by the way_

_Hell yeah_

_How was your first Christmas together?_

_Really amazing. I love him so much._

_Isn't it nice to finally say that out loud?_

_Yeah, it really is._

_I bet it's nice that he's said it too._

_Definitely_

_You don't have to worry anymore. It's all out there. You guys don't have to hold back_

_Things are better now that we both have said it. I feel like we've taken another step in our relationship_

_I am extremely happy for you. You deserve this. You finally have someone treating you the way you should be treated._

_Stop. You're going to make me cry._

_You deserve to be loved and Tyler is amazing with you. You know I worry._

_I know you do. And yeah, he's the best thing to happen to me_

_Besides me, right?_

_Of course. You know you're my first love_

_I love you too. Ok I'll let you go. Get you some Christmas sex_

_He's sleeping_

_LOL old married couple already. Sucker._

_Goodnight, bitch_

_Smooch_


	20. I can't wait to kiss you at midnight

New Year's Eve is one of my favorite nights of the year. It's a night when everyone gets together to celebrate the new year beginning or the old year ending. It's an excuse to get drunk and act crazy and I don't do that often. New Years is always my one exception. When I was younger I'd get together with my aunts, uncle, and cousins and the whole family would have a big party. My dad would always be my midnight kiss. As we got older the tradition changed, but my excitement for it never has. Tonight will be different than any other New Year's I've had. A very welcome change of routine even though I will miss hanging out with Faith and the rest of the crew. Tonight I will be going to Tyler's game, followed by the team party at the hotel across the street from the AAC.

The last few days with Tyler have been incredible. This is the most time we have been able to spend together since we met. It's going to be rough going back to our usual routine of seeing each other a few times a week while he's home and not at all when he's on the road.

Before Tyler's game I go to Chad's hair salon and get my hair done for the party. I was going to leave early to go back to Tyler's place really quick to change, but the game was so exciting I wound up staying for the whole thing so I decide to go see Tyler by the locker room before rushing back to his house.

He looks surprised to see me but walks over to me and wraps me up in a hug and kisses my cheek. "I wasn't expecting to see you down here. I thought you were going to leave early."

"I was, but who could leave that exciting game? I was hoping for a hat trick."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"You could never. It was still a great game. I should get going, though, so I'm not late to the party. I couldn't leave without seeing you."

He smiles. "I'm glad you did. Your hair looks nice," he says as he flips up the ends of my hair.

"Thanks, Chad works miracles."

"No miracles needed." He kisses me. "Get going. I'll see you at the party. I can't wait to see you in that dress." He leans in close and says into my ear, "and out of it."

I smile and blush. "I can't wait for the last part either." Knowing Tyler, he will probably pass out before any kind of taking clothes off happens but I'm not going to kill his mood.

I let the dogs out in the yard while I run to the bedroom to change. I don't know how quickly I am going to be getting an Uber since it's New Year's Eve, and I want to be able to walk into the party with Tyler. I carefully put the dress on, making sure I don't mess up my hair, it held up surprisingly well during the game.

After I put myself together I look at myself in the mirror. I have to admit I love how I look. I take a quick selfie in the mirror and send it off to Faith. I wrangle all of the dogs back inside and request an Uber. I am making pretty good time and I shouldn't have a problem making it to the W on time. When I'm in the car I let Tyler know I'm on my way. He replies with "hurry".

I walk into the lobby of the W and Tyler stops dead in his tracks when he sees me. He smiles wide and hugs me when we get closer.

"Wow, you look stunning, absolutely beautiful," he gushes as he takes a step back to look at me.

"Thanks, Ty, the dress is amazing."

"I told you it was made for you. I'm not going to be able to take my eyes off of you."

"You're looking pretty dapper yourself."

"No, no. This is all about you. I'm speechless."

"Tyler Seguin speechless? It's a miracle."

"Oh hush." He kisses me. "Let's get to the party so I can show you off."

Tyler grabs each of us a drink as soon as we get in. There is an open bar set up, a place I imagine I will become very familiar with throughout the night. Usually Tyler goes off to talk to the guys and we do our own thing for a little bit before meeting back up with each other, but tonight he is glued to my side. It's a very welcome change in routine. He hasn't taken his hand off of the small of my back since we got here.

It doesn't take me long to get a bit tipsy. I'm drinking Jack and Cokes like it's water. Tyler and I and a few of the other couples wind up doing a few shots, solidifying my buzz.

He walks me around the room, making sure to point out that he picked out the dress to anyone who compliments me on how good I look. It's cute how proud he is of himself. His hair is beginning to dry from his post game shower and some of the ends are falling into his face. I try to push them out of his face and behind his ears but they just flop back down.

"Sorry, I tried," I say

"Thanks. It's not a big deal. I know you like it this way anyway."

"I do."

Jason Spezza and his wife Jennifer walk over to us. "You keeping him in line?" Jason asks me.

"Of course."

"Doesn't she look beautiful, Spezz?"

"Uh. Yeah, Segs," he says, looking to Jennifer for approval before finishing his sentence.

"I picked out the dress all by myself," he brags, "Isn't it the most amazing dress you've ever seen?"

I roll my eyes. "He's insufferable about this dress."

Jason giggles. "It's a nice dress."

Tyler throws his hands up in the air in disbelief. "Nice? It's fucking fantastic."

Jennifer looks at me. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you, Jenn, at least someone thinks so," I say as I look at Tyler.

"Babe, you're the most breathtaking woman in the world. You know I feel that way."

I look down and blush. "Thanks, Ty."

"It's no secret that I'm the luckiest guy on the planet, I just happen to also be really good at picking out dresses for my girlfriend."

"You were almost sweet for a second," I say as I fight a smile.

"You two make sure to behave tonight," Jason says before they get going on their way. Tyler always calls him the dad of the team forgetting that Jason and I are the same age.

"You really are beautiful, but that's always." He hugs me and kisses my forehead. "We have to grab someone to take our picture before we both get too drunk. We look fucking amazing."

Alexander spots us and walks over to us. "Hey, guys!"

"Rads! Perfect." He holds his phone out to him. "Can you take a picture of us?"

"Of course, Seggy."

Tyler and I pose and Alexander takes at least one picture, possibly more because we are posing for longer than it takes to just take one picture. "Get over here for a selfie," Tyler says and Alex comes over to us. Tyler takes his phone back and we take a selfie and Alex takes a video on his phone.

Tyler and Alexander go off to talk with some of the guys and I go off to mingle on my own. Of course I wind up talking with Taylor and a few of the other wives and girlfriends.

"He finally let you out of his sight, I see," Taylor teases. Tyler has been extra clingy tonight.

"He couldn't resist goofing off with Alex."

"Of course."

"You're looking extra radiant tonight."

"Ooooo, radiant, that's a good word. I like that word. And thank you. You do too."

"Steve is off with some of the guys too. I told him as long as he's with me at midnight I don't care what he does."

I laugh. "I think Tyler just wanted to brag to everyone that he picked out the dress. Now that everyone knows he doesn't need me around."

"No way that's the case. He's absolutely glowing. The both of you are."

"I've been off from work and we've actually gotten to spend some real time together. It's been five amazing days."

"Falling even more and more in love."

"Exactly."

"You're a saint for being able to put up with him for that long. I don't think I could do it."

"He keeps me on my toes, that's for sure, but he makes me laugh and I love him so much."

"Speaking of him, he's taking a video of you," she says as she points to where he's standing.

"He is?" I look over in Tyler's direction and he smiles. His shoulders start to shake with laughter once he knows he's caught and starts to walk over to us.

"Can I have my girlfriend back now?" he asks as he wraps his arm around my back.

"I guess if you want to be a hog."

"I do."

He pulls me away from the group and starts dancing on and around me. I giggle as he attempts to twerk, he almost knocks me over as he pushes his butt against me.

"That ass is a weapon, baby, be careful," I say as I grab onto it.

He stands up and pulls me up against him. He looks into my eyes and smiles, making his eyes crinkle so much that I can barely see them. "It's almost sad that this year is ending. I met you this year. The only good thing is that this just means I get to spend next year with you and the next billion after that."

"You're going to live that long, Ty?"

"Fuck yeah I am. And you are too because I can't live without you."

"I'll try."

He sticks his face in mine, enough for our noses to touch. "You have to. I'm on a whole other level of happy because of you."

"Is that why you were taking video of me before?"

"Yeah. Exactly. I'm happy and I want them all to know why."

"Who is all?"

"All of them."

I reach for his phone. "Let me see."

He pulls it away. "No," he says through giggles.

"What did you say?"

"Not telling." He boops my nose with his finger.

I snarl. "Give me the phone!" I shriek as I try to reach for it as he holds it above his head. I am not about to try to jump in these heels. I'd surely break an ankle.

"You're so cute when you're feisty." He stands on his tippy toes and holds the phone as far above his head as he can.

I take this opportunity to tickle him. I start at his waist and move up to his ribs then armpits. This sends him into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. He pulls his arms quickly to his sides and laughs so hard that he slowly stumbles to the floor, landing on his butt. I take my phone out of my clutch and take a quick video of him. "This is going on Instagram."

"While you're there, check what I posted to my story." I reach down for him and help him stand up as much as I can. Most of it was done on his own strength. He stands next to me peering over my shoulder as I click his story. To my surprise I see the video he was taking of me. He put a heart eyes emoji on the screen and at the end of the video you can hear him laugh and say "busted" as I look over at him. "I hope that's ok. I don't want to hide it anymore."

"It's time. We've kept it private for long enough. We shouldn't have to worry."

"Then we won't worry." He places a long, tender kiss on my lips and smiles as he pulls away.

"Look, Jamie, finally a couple more sickening than us. Who knew it would be Tyler?" we hear from behind us.

Tyler and I both turn around to see Jamie and Katie watching us. "Quit staring, creeps," Tyler says.

"I'm not entirely used to in love Segs yet, but you guys are so cute," Jamie gushes, obviously drunk.

"Selfie, Chubbs, come on, the four of us," Tyler says as he digs into his pocket for his phone.

Katie squeezes in next to me and Jamie stands next to her. Tyler holds the phone out and we all smile big, cheesy, drunk smiles. A song comes on that was played at the game the other night. Katie and I look at each other wide eyed and begin belting out the lyrics.

"I added this to Spotify!" She exclaims as if it's the best news she's ever given.

"Oh my god, me too!" I return with the same enthusiasm.

"I think we've lost our girlfriends," Jamie says as Katie and I start to dance with each other.

"I don't think so. I'm not sharing." Tyler comes up behind me, grabs my hand, and spins me around to face him. He places my hand on the back of his neck and I put my other hand with it as he holds onto my hips. He rests his forehead against mine as we slow dance to a song that is far from slow. "I'm allowed to be greedy tonight."

"Anything you want."

"You. Just you."

"You got me. I don't know if you've noticed but I'm so in love with you."

"I haven't noticed." He looks at me, smiling, knowing full well that's a lie.

"Oh no. What can I do to show you?"

"Kiss me."

"Gladly." I pull his head down and kiss him. He tightens his grip on my hips and pulls me closer to him. I almost whimper when he pulls away from the kiss.

"That much, eh?"

I smile, nod yes, and kiss him again. I can taste the numerous shots and drinks he's had on his lips and it's intoxicating. It only makes me want more.

"Save it for midnight, Segs," someone says as they slap Tyler on his back. I don't know who it is because by the time we both part from the kiss all we can see is the back of his head.

Tyler takes his phone out and pulls me in close before holding it out in front of us. I think he's taking a picture so I smile big and wait for him to take it. He giggles. "It's a video." Unfortunately this is not the first time I've thought he was taking a picture when it was actually a video. He always makes fun of me for it.

"I didn't know. Do over!"

"Posting it." I sulk, knowing there's nothing I can do to stop him. "Cutie." I mush my hand in his face and he playfully bites my fingers. "Watch it, you."

Pitbull's "Give Me Everything" blares through the speakers and we immediately look at each other and start singing along horribly and loudly. It's one of our favorite songs to sing and dance to in the car.

Tyler takes his phone out to take a video, something I am all too familiar with when we are singing together. Usually he will just show me, though, since it's usually when he's driving. I can't even count the amount of times his Snapchat followers have seen me, and sometimes us, singing along to the radio.

He sings the line, "make love to you endless" in my ear as he dances on me and smiling with his hand running up my thigh where the slit in my dress begins. I almost forget he's also filming us for his Instagram story. I smile and lean into his lips and they touch my earlobe. He kisses my cheek and we continue to sing and dance along to the song.

The longer the song plays, the more people sing along to it. You can hear the different groups of people drunkenly belt out the lyrics at different volumes. It's almost like we are at a concert. Tyler takes a few more videos of us singing. I think he's really relieved that he can finally be open about our relationship. Sometimes it is a little stressful when he wants to share something but he thinks twice because he's worried about me. We are in love and now the whole world is going to find out.

"Excuse me. And I might drink a little more than I should tonight. And I might take you home with me if I could tonight. And, baby, I'ma make you feel so good, tonight 'cause we might not get tomorrow." All I can do is look into his eyes and sing with him. I don't even care that his followers can hear what a terrible singer I am. I am having the best time with him. Once again we are in our own little world together, just he and I.

"Tonight, I want all of you tonight. Give me everything tonight. For all we know we might not get tomorrow." We sing to each other as we press our foreheads against one another. The room is spinning, I am feeling fine, and there is no place I'd rather be than here drunk as hell singing with the love of my life.

The place gets its loudest when "Grab somebody sexy, tell 'em hey. Give me everything tonight. Give me everything tonight. Give me everything tonight. Give me everything tonight" can be heard. We all sing along at the top of their lungs. I make sure to grab my somebody sexy and hold onto Tyler so tight as we grind on each other.

The second time that part comes up in the song just about everyone has their phones up in the air, panning around the room as we all sing along, and taking video. Now it really feels like a concert.

Once the song ends the catering staff start to circulate the room holding trays of champagne. Tyler grabs a glass for himself and for me and hands me mine. He swirls it around by his nose and sniffs it. "Not bad," he says with a nod, as if he's some kind of expert. He and I laugh then he kisses my forehead.

"I can't wait to kiss you at midnight," I say as we all start to gather around together.

"You don't have to wait until midnight, you know."

"I know. I'm saving it."

"Oh yeah? You're saving it."

"Uh huh. I'm gonna knock your socks off."

"You always do."

"I love you so much, Ty."

"I love you too." He kisses the tip of my nose. "I'm saving my kisses too." He grins from ear to ear. Sometimes I can't believe how cute he is but also so sexy at the same time. I sometimes also can't believe that I'm the one he's chosen to love and how happy he makes me. It's like a high.

We get situated with the rest of the team in front of the mounted TV on the wall just in time for the 30 second countdown to midnight. Tyler has his arm around my back as we all count down along with the TV.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Tyler started his video with about five seconds to go. After we scream happy new year we share the most magical new year's kiss I have ever had. That's definitely an accomplishment since we are both pretty drunk. He posts the video, sticks his phone in his pocket, and goes for round two. His hands are in my hair and mine are settled on his waist. I could get lost in this kiss forever. It doesn't matter that his teammates have started to tell us to break it up, get a room, or save some for next year. I could kiss him until the end of time and it still wouldn't be enough.

The party at the W starts winding down but neither of us are ready for it to be over. "After party at my house!" Tyler announces. We both start texting any friend who we think might want to come over and continue the festivities as we make our way outside to wait for our Uber.

Once we get to Tyler's we start grabbing bottles and bottles of alcohol to get ready for when everyone gets here. The dogs surround us, weaving in and out of our legs. I open the door to the backyard for them to go out and all but Grace run outside. She looks up at me, concerned.

"Mommy's ok, baby girl," I assure her, "go outside." She is reluctant but does as I say and joins the boys in the yard.

Tyler comes up behind me and hugs me. I lean back into him as if I need him there to keep me standing, which is almost the case. "So" he kisses my cheek "fucking" he kisses my neck "sexy" he kisses my shoulder. He runs his hands up my body and back down.

I move my head to the side, inviting him to kiss my neck again. "Why did we invite people over? We could be fucking right now."

He hovers over my shoulder, his beard just slightly tickles my skin and sends chills down my spine. "Patience." He nibbles my neck and I reach up to messily run my fingers through his hair. He cups my breasts and circles his fingers around my nipple.

"Not fucking fair," I hiss as I rub my ass back and forth on his crotch.

He grabs onto my hips and moves them in a rhythm that's more to his liking. "People will be here any minute," he whispers into my ear.

"Such a shame."

He spins me around and kisses me as he pins me up against the refrigerator. I shriek when the cold metal touches my skin but immediately go back to kissing him. His hand explores my thigh, goes up and under the dress, and reaches around to grab my ass and pull me up against him. The doorbell rings and we both jump back and curse at it.

Most of Tyler's teammates have shown up to the house along with a lot of Tyler's friends and even a few of mine. I didn't think this many people would drop what they're doing in the middle of the night, but it's Tyler, if he invites you somewhere you go. I'm sure Uber is going to be making so I have money off of our party alone tonight.

Somehow a beer pong game got set up in the other room. Tyler keeps handing me drinks as I circulate around the house to make sure everyone is happy and taken care of. I don't even know how or when I took up the role of hostess. I can barely see straight at this point.

To my surprise Faith and Scott show up. I spot them from across the room and make a b-line straight towards them. I drape my arms over their shoulders. "You came!"

"Yeah, we had a sitter tonight. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you."

"I love you guys. My two favorite people."

"Oh my god, you're so drunk," Faith says as she shakes her head at me.

"I am so glad to see you. My best friend. Bessssst friend. And Scott. Scotty, Scott, Scott. Love you, bro." I take a drink of whatever I have left in one cup and start to drink from the other cup in my other hand.

"Don't you think you've had enough to drink?" Scott asks.

"Oh my god, I'm a terrible hostess. Here, have this." I give him my drink. He looks into the cup, shrugs, and drinks it. He nods his head in approval. "Really good, right? I don't even know what's in it but it's so good."

"Faith needs one right now," Scott says after taking another sip.

"Tyler made them. I lost him, though."

"Well this is a huge house and there's surprisingly a lot of people here." Faith looks around. "He knows all of these people?"

"Probably? I don't even know."

I spot Tyler in the crowd and wave him over to me. He makes his way over, grabs my face, and kisses me. It's a sloppy, drunk, disgusting kiss and I love it. "I fucking love you. I'm so sorry I invited everyone over. I want to fuck that dress off of you."

Faith clears her throat and Tyler looks towards her. "Happy New Year, Tyler."

"Oh shit, when did you get here?" he exclaims as he pulls her in for a hug.

"About twenty minutes before the fucking the dress off part."

"She's fucking hot, can you blame me?"

"As long as you don't do it in front of us it's all good."

"Shiiiiiit, you should be so lucky to see the magic we make together."

"We can't fuck in front of everyone we know, Tyler," I add.

"It would be inspiring and you know it, babe."

"I'm sorry, he's drunk," I apologize.

"So are you!" he yells.

"You're so drunk, drunky."

"Takes one to know one."

"I'm fine."

"No way. You're on this ride with me."

He looks at me with squinty eyes and smiles from ear to ear. "Yeah, maybe," he says as he scrunches up his nose.

"Guys, beer pong. Us against you," Scott says as he points to the now empty table.

"Yes! That's what I'm talking about. Way to be, Scott," Tyler says as he pulls me towards the table. They follow behind us.

After Faith and Scott kick our asses in beer pong Tyler and I stumble into the living room and sit down for the first time all night. There are a few stragglers still left in the house and Tyler insists that they stay. There no use in trying to get an Uber now. There's plenty of room in the spare rooms and couches that people can sleep on. Tyler turns the music down. It sounds much louder now that there's not as many people talking.

He picks my legs up and drapes them over his lap. We both lean our heads back on the back of the couch and look at each other. He smiles at me which makes me smile. His smile always makes me smile. His smile is the most beautiful thing in this world. He places his hand on my thigh and happily sighs. It's been a long night. The world keeps spinning. I'm feeling good. A little too good. It's a typical New Year's Eve for me. I drank way too much and I am not regretting it one bit.

"You have changed my life forever, Ty," I say.

"I have?"

"Yes you have. Happy. So so happy."

"You make me happy too."

"Loving you is everything. Thanks for letting me."

"You're so fucking cute."

"I'm pretty drunk aren't I?"

He laughs. "We both are." He has a permanent smile plastered on his face, his double dimples working overtime.

I touch over and touch his face. "Dimples!" I poke one side of his face with my finger, which makes him smile even more. "Happy New Year." I kick my shoes off, which feels amazing, I don't know why I didn't take them off earlier. It's getting harder and harder to keep my eyes open.

"Happy New Year." He pulls my head down onto his shoulder and lies back on the couch, taking me with him. "Let's sleep." I snuggle up to him and close my eyes. The last thing I feel is the warmth of his lips on my forehead.


	21. The First and Last Time

“Is that really what my face looks like when I jerk off?”

“You’re not supposed to be looking at your own video, Ty.”

Ever since Tyler got me the phone mount for my neck for when we FaceTime while he’s on the road we’ve been joking about having FaceTime phone sex. Joking became half joking and half joking became reality. So here we are. I’m naked in my room with a phone mount around my neck, probably looking the least sexy I have ever looked, and Tyler is naked in his hotel room in Philadelphia. I think he has his phone propped up on a pillow or a few pillows or something like that. I’m just lucky that all he can see is my face and chest.

“Oh, I know what will get you, babe,” he says as he continuously fights a smile. He takes a deep breath and gets his serious face on. He runs his tongue over his top lip, then his lower, and flicks it up and down. The rest of his face is also moving with his tongue, though, and I can’t stop myself from laughing. His one eye is closed while he’s trying to concentrate. One cheek raised. He stops once I start laughing. “What’s funny?”

“It doesn’t work when you try so hard. Oh my god.”

“It was supposed to be sexy, not funny.”

“Don’t be upset. I know you know how to lick pussy.”

“You’re fucking right I do.”

“But that wasn’t it I’m sorry to say.”

Tyler and I have tried to get this going a few times already but it’s not as easy as I thought it was going to be to get into the mood. Usually when he dirty talks to me I can get right into it, but that’s usually just while we are on the phone or while we are together. It’s not helping that Tyler is continuously smiling and occasionally laughs. The video aspect of it has proven to be more of a distraction than anything. I do love seeing his face, though.

His giggly mood has turned my mood more playful. “Make sure you don’t get cum on your phone. That would be pretty awkward to explain to the guys at the Genius Bar.”

“Sex would be hard to explain to those guys.”

I laugh. “That’s mean.”

“But true.” His face lights up as if he just thought of something. “Remember when you had it in your hair and we didn’t realize until we were out at that restaurant?” He giggles.

“I still think you didn’t tell me on purpose.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“I hope whoever is in the room next to you doesn’t hear what we are doing.”

“I’m not loud. That’s going to be all you. I have earbuds in so don’t hold back.”

“Still, hotel walls are thin.”

“If they hear, so what? I’m not ashamed. I’m lucky to have a girl that’s willing to have a bit of fun with me, even when we are so far apart.”

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”

“Me too, although I can’t wait until I’m back home so I can actually touch you. Is Grace in there with you?”

“Fuck no. I look ridiculous as it is, I don’t need her judging me.”

He laughs. “I doubt she cares.”

“I really don’t need a dog staring at me while I masturbate.”

“That one time she was in the room with us while we fucked was kinda creepy. She probably wondered why I was on top and didn’t have you bent over, you know, doggy style.”

“I’m sure that’s what she was thinking,” I say sarcastically. “How about when Gerry jumped on the bed and practically stuck himself in between us.”

He smiles. “He was just trying to help.”

“Are we still actually going to do this?” We’ve gotten way off course.

“Yes. Yes we are. Ok getting serious.”

I consider myself pretty adventurous but I’ve never done anything like this before. I think we would be ok if I could just get Tyler to focus.

“I miss you so much, Ty.”

“I miss you too.”

“I miss your hands.”

“I want to be touching you right now. I want to touch every part of your skin with my hands and then again with my tongue.”

“Imagine me blowing you.”

“Don’t say blowing.”

“No? What about sucking your cock?”

“You have to describe what you’d be doing.”

“I know. I don’t know why this is hard for me all of a sudden.”

“I’m hard, look.” He holds his hard dick up to the camera and I can see him smiling in the background, proud of himself. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“I do. I really do.”

“Let me start it off. Close your eyes, listen to the sound of my voice, and start touching yourself.”

I take a deep breath. “Ok.” I relax into my pillow a bit and close my eyes and imagine he’s here with me.

“I start out by kissing your lips, one of my favorite things to do, the way you kiss me drives me crazy. I kiss your neck as I start to tightly brush over your sensitive nipple with my fingertips.”

“I put my hand on your chest and move it down your body to your abs, but I can’t stop there, not when I know what’s waiting for me.”

“There you go.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “My lips and tongue replace my fingers on your nipple. There’s somewhere else my fingers need to be.”

“I’m already wet with anticipation.”

“Wait, really?”

“Well yes, but I meant for the thing.”

“Oh right, of course. Sorry.”

“I want to feel your hard cock in my hand. I grab hold of it and slowly pump up and down so I can feel you getting harder from my touch.”

“I am so hard for you. I want to touch you and make you moan right away but I want to take my time too. I run my hand up and down your inner thigh, teasing you. You know how much I love to tease you. You fucking love it too.”

“I do love it. I’m aching for you. Please touch me.”

“God, I love when you beg for it.”

“I’m touching myself, you better catch up.”

“I wish I could see.”

“Touch me, baby, please.”

“Fuck. Ok. I push your legs apart so I can get better access and I start to suck on your nipple.”

“I start to stroke you faster as your finger gets closer to my clit. I kiss your ear and massage the back of your head. I know how good it feels for you.”

“I circle my finger around your clit, being super gentle. Your nipple is so hard in my mouth. I love how it feels between my lips. You’re so wet so I easily stick two fingers inside you.”

“Mmm. Yes, Tyler.”

“That is music to my ears, babe, seriously.”

I am struggling to get the feel right. It’s not easy trying to touch myself and coming up with the next thing to say. I use toys more often than not, anyway, so I may have to bring one into the mix. I don’t want to interrupt what we are doing, though, I’m just not where I need to be. I open my eyes to see Tyler working his cock. It’s such a turn on for me to watch him. I almost forget I’m supposed to be getting off too. 

“You stopped. Everything ok?”

“I was wondering if I could use a toy to help me out with this. I’m having a hard time concentrating.”

“Like a big ass dildo? I dunno.”

“I just need a vibrator if you’re uncomfortable with anything else.”

“Of course I want you to feel good but...I’m not sure how I’d feel about something else penetrating you while I watch, though.”

I smile and shake my head. Of course he’s worried about his ego. “Vibrator it is then.” I open the door to my bedside table and grab one of my vibrators. Cover myself with a blanket and pillow to muffle the sound of the vibrator so it’s not as loud to him. “Ok. Ready?”

“Mhmm.”

I turn the vibrator on and only slightly touch it to my clit. I close my eyes and suck in a breath. Yes, this is exactly what I need. “You were fingering me.”

“Right.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m sucking on your nipple, every once in a while flicking it with my tongue. Licking it reminds me of something else I’d like to be licking, so I start to kiss down your chest and to your stomach.”

“Ohhhh god,” I moan. I admit the vibrator is a little ahead of where Tyler is at this point but I can’t stop.

“Uh, I mean I love when you moan but….maybe the vibrator, I don’t know anymore.”

“But I’m imagining it’s you.” I apply a little more pressure. “Oh god, Tyler.”

“Ok, let’s continue.”

“Both of my hands are in your hair, guiding you to where I want to to be, where I need you to be.”

“I make sure my lips touch every bit of your skin on the way down. You taste so sweet.”

“Hurry, baby.”

“Oh no. I’m taking my time.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Ty.”

He smiles. “Oh, so you’re ready for my tongue now?”

“Yes!” I cry out.

“I lick in between your lips up and down, pressing my tongue into you a little bit. You’re so wet and I lap it all up. I lick you dry but you’re not dry for long because I start licking your clit. It’s throbbing for me.”

“God yes, Ty. Keep going.”

“I pay extra attention to your clit. Licking it, flicking the tip of my tongue up and down on it.”

“Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god.”

“Cum for me, baby. I lick in between your lips from the bottom to the top. I swirl my tongue over your clit and don’t stop. Over and over and over again.”

“Fuck me, Ty.”

“Cum for me first, then I’ll fuck you.”

“Fuuuck. Ohhhh, Tyyyler.”

“I take your clit in between my lips and suck on it gently as I roll my tongue around it. You pull on my hair but somehow manage to keep my head in place, telling me to keep going.”

Everything he is describing to me I can feel. I see if happening in my head. My toes curl up and I can feel the orgasm like a wave throughout my whole body. My eyes roll back into my head and I close my eyes as I moan and scream out. 

“Watching you orgasm is my favorite thing in this world. God, I love you. You’re so beautiful.”

I could have ended the call right there but he hasn’t cum yet. Not only has he not cum, but I’m not ready for this to end. I pull the vibrator away for a few seconds while I catch my breath and then put it back on my clit with is already so sensitive and throbbing. And I am right back into it.

“Fuck me, Ty, please.”

“So impatient.”

“I need you.”

“I’m here. I’m hovering over you with my cock in my hand. I run the head down your pussy and tease your entrance.”

“Fuck me. Fuck me hard. Fuck me.”

“I’m going to fuck you so hard you’re not going to be able to walk tomorrow.”

“Do it then. I want you. I want you so bad.”

“Tell me what you want.”

“I want your cock inside me.”

“You’re so wet that I slide right in you with ease. You feel so good, so tight.”

“Harder, baby, harder.”

“You’re so fucking naughty. I give it to you as hard as you want it. In and out and in and out. I pull out almost all the way only to slam into you again.”

“Come on, baby, fuck the shit out of me.”

“Get on top if this isn’t hard enough for you. Ride me.”

“I push you down on the bed and climb on top of you. You hold your cock at full attention so I can sit right on it, not that it needs help, it’s so hard you could hammer a nail with it.”

“It sure is.”

“I slide over top of it and back up a little bit, teasing my entrance. Payback’s a bitch. I lower myself slightly and move my hips a bit before raising back up again. I could get off just like this.”

“I grab your ass and pull you down on me, hard, I’m not playing this game.”

“Fuck, Ty, yes. Don’t let go of my ass.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“A first I put my hands on your chest for leverage but it’s not enough. I grab the top of the headboard and rock my hips up and down. My tits are in your face and you lick them every chance you get.”

“I grab your ass and pull you harder into me. You get used to the rhythm I want and I reward you by slapping it.”

“I’m closer to cumming again, Ty. I fucking want you so bad, Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“You’re in control, baby, ride that cock.”

“I am. God, I am. I kiss you but it’s rough and sloppy and you stick my tongue in my mouth, that’s all I want. I suck on it like I’d suck on your cock. You keep pulling me harder so you’re deeper and deeper inside me. I...ohh god, Ty, right there. Don’t fucking move. Right there, right there, right there. Yes, Ty, oh my god.” My whole body shakes with my second orgasm of the night. It’s so intense that I feel like i’ve gotten an abdominal workout. I look at the screen to see that Tyler now has his eyes closed and is stroking his dick vigorously. He’s close to cumming. I turn off the vibrator and focus on him. 

“Finish me off, baby. I’m close.”

“I kiss your chest making sure i kiss each of of your nipples but I know what you really need so I don’t take too much time there. I kiss down your body and cup your balls with my hand. I take your cock in my mouth and take it all the way in my mouth. You love when my lips touch the base. I wrap my lips around your cock as I slowly pull my head up until I get to your head. I swirl my tongue around the head, licking up all of the precum that is coming out for me.”

“Mmm yeah,” he moans. He has his eyes closed, which gives me the opportunity to watch him as he works himself. I love watching him get off.

“I lick up and down the shaft and take your head back in my mouth and suck you off. I run my lips up and down your cock half way and work it with my free hand as I massage your balls with my other hand. I love the feel of your cock in my mouth, baby, and you taste so good.”

“Mmhm. Oh yeah.”

I can tell he’s close to cumming so I continue to describe the blowjob until he lets out one final moan and starts cumming. It runs down his hand and cock. I’m loving it. He grabs some tissues from the table next to the bed and cleans himself up. 

When he’s finished cleaning himself up he finally looks into the camera and it’s like we lock eyes. We immediately start laughing. He throws the tissues towards the camera. “Did you watch me cum?” he asks.

“Of course. Wasn’t that the whole point of this?”

“Yeah it was.” He looks down.

“I’ve seen you cum before, you know.”

“I know but you’re usually the one doing it.”

“Are you actually embarrassed?”

“No. It was hot for sure. I dunno.”

“How about we agree that this is the first and last time we have FaceTime sex?”

“I’m good with that. Don’t get me wrong, I did love it, but maybe never again.”

“Yeah. I feel the same way. At least we can say we tried, though.”

“It makes me want to be with you more. One more game and I’ll be home.”

“I know. I can’t wait.” I can hear Grace whimpering outside of the door. “She wants in but I’m not ready for her yet.”

“Poor baby girl. Such a mean mommy.”

“I’d have to put clothes on and cover up, though, do you want that?”

“No. I don’t. I am enjoying the view.” He grabs his phone and moves it closer to his face. “There, that’s a much better view for you.”

“I didn’t mind seeing the goods.”

He laughs. “The goods, eh, is that what you call it?”

“Sometimes.”

He shakes his head and smiles. “I love you.”

“I love you too. It’s getting late, we should probably sleep. I’m a little exhausted anyway.”

“Yeah. We could talk all night. I’ll call you tomorrow at some point. Don’t lock Grace out any longer.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’[m gonna shower first.”

“Don’t hang up. Bring me in there with you.” He smiles wide.

I roll my eyes. “Goodnight, Tyler.”

“Goodnight.” I make kisses at the camera and he kisses back before ending the call.


	22. Welcome home

_Big Chuck : Want some company for Tyler’s game tonight?_

_I’d love to have you over._

_Big Chuck : I’ll bring you that salad you like_

_You are the best_

I can’t wait to have my dad over for Tyler’s game tonight. We don’t watch too many games in the same room together but we are always watching together in some way. We text back and forth the whole game, mostly talking about how well Tyler plays. He has become a pretty big hockey fan and seems to really enjoy watching the games. He’s come with me to one and really had a good time. He’s not quite as into it as I am but he’s getting there. I think he feels like he’s cheating on football.

As soon as my dad pulls into the driveway Grace is at the door waiting for him with her tail wagging. She whimpers a bit and sticks her nose right up against the door. “He’s coming, stop being impatient.” He has his hands full with food so I wait until he gets close and I open the door for him. “Hey, dad. Need any help?”

“No, I got it.” He walks in, shuffling his feet so he won’t step on Grace’s paws because she is glued to his side as he makes his way to the kitchen. “Hey Grace, I’ll pet you in a sec, I gotta put this food down.” He puts the bags on the table, reaches in, and pulls out a dog biscuit. “You know I wouldn’t forget about you.” He has her sit, which she does, and he hands her the cookie and pets her head. He looks over at me and smiles before walking over to me and giving me a hug. “How was your day?”

“Way too long and way too full of work.”

“You’re not at retirement age yet?” he teases.

“Really? You too? It’s bad enough I have Tyler always bringing my age into things. You guys are the worst.”

He chuckles. “It’s because we love you.”

“That’s not how love works,” I pout.

“Anyway, this should cheer you up.” He starts emptying the contents of the bigger bag out onto the table. “I brought your salad and that soup you like. Who is the best dad ever?”

“You, I guess, when you’re not calling me old.”

“I brought dessert too.”

“Oh yeah?” I poke my head into the opening of the smaller bag he placed on the table and start laughing as I pull out the containers of gelato.

“Something funny? I thought you said that place has good stuff.”

“It’s good. Really good. It’s just...nothing. Thanks, dad. I’ll put these in the freezer.”

“I figured we’d be watching hockey so it’s only fitting we’d have a cold dessert.”

He takes his coat off and I notice he’s wearing a Stars shirt that says Seguin on the back. “Nice shirt,” I call out to him as I get the table set up for us to start eating.

He looks down, as if he wasn’t sure what he was wearing. “Oh. Yeah. Thanks. I couldn’t wear the jersey he gave me, that’s signed and framed, and we always wear jerseys on game days. I needed something.” My heart is so full. I want to go over to him and hug him forever. He’s so sweet and is so proud of Tyler and that we know him. I don’t even wear his jersey when I’m home.

“That’s so sweet. I bet he really appreciates the support.”

“It’s good luck. He’s scored every time I wear it.”

We sit down to eat and I tell my dad about my day in more detail. I tell him how much more work they’ve been dumping on me and now I dread going in more and more as each day goes on. He suggests I start looking elsewhere for work, but the thing about my job is that I get paid more here than I would anywhere else. I know money isn’t everything but it sure does help get the bills paid. Not everyone loves what they do, I can handle it. I’m lucky to have an amazing family and an amazing boyfriend to help keep me going. Life is still really good despite having a job I can’t stand.

After we eat and clean up I go to my room to change into one of my Stars shirts with Seguin on the back. I’d feel bad if my dad was in full on support mode and not me. When I get to the living room my dad is already on the couch with Grace by his side. The pregame show is on and my dad is actually listening. For the longest time he would have it on, but muted, he’s making progress.

I sit down on the couch, only half expecting Grace to get up and snuggle up next to me, which she doesn’t. My dad has a bowl of freshly popped popcorn in his lap and Grace is eyeing the bowl like she hasn’t eaten in days. My dad loves Grace and spoils the crap out of her with anything made for dogs but she knows that he never gives her people food. That doesn’t stop her from always begging, though.

“You missed them talking about Tyler. They always have such great things to say about him.” He hands me the bowl to take some popcorn for myself.

“That’s because he’s rarely off of his game. Even when he isn’t producing he’s still working his ass off to make something happen. They recognize that.” I take a handful of popcorn and pass him the bowl.

“He has been producing, though. I’d like to think you have something to do with that.”

“What? No way. That’s all him.”

“Of course he has the talent and the skill and he’s done all of the hard work but it’s also partially about the state of mind, which also is very important.”

“I guess. I don’t think I have much to do with it. He was good before me.”

“They say he’s more consistent now. I’m not trying to take anything away from him but I think you being in his life has had a positive effect on his game. If anything you’re definitely changed who he is as a person for the better. It’s ok to take credit for that. You’re an amazing woman.”

“Thanks.” I’m not quite sure I agree with him, but I’m not going to take this moment away from him. He’s obviously impressed with Tyler and proud of him. This is his way of telling me.

The first period goes well and Tyler winds up assisting on a goal. It was a nice assist on an even nicer goal. My dad and I both pumped our fists in the air at the same time and cheered for him, for them, for the whole team. Grace is used to us cheering for sports so she doesn’t lift her head because of our shenanigans anymore.

“It’s the shirt. I told you. Good luck.”

“Dad, can you get the gelato?”

“Sure, sweetie, a drink too?”

“Yeah. Iced tea. Thanks.”

Once he’s up and his back is to me I snap a quick picture before he realizes I have. I want to show Tyler that my dad really does care a lot about him. I text it to him so he can see it after the game. Grace follows my dad into the kitchen and he lets her outside so she won’t have to get up during the second period.

They come into the living room and sit back down on the couch. He hands me my mint chocolate chip gelato and he has his usual chocolate.

“That place all of these amazing and unique flavors and you choose chocolate.”

“It’s what I like.”

“I know, dad. It wouldn’t kill you to try something new, though, they give out samples.”

“Next time. The three of us can go together maybe.”

“Tyler would love that.”

Right on cue, as if the people at Fox Sports Southwest could hear me, Tyler’s face appears on the screen to start off the second period. I automatically smile when I see him. He’s centered in the middle of the screen and starts running his tongue over his top lip back and forth quickly while he looks forward intensely. He runs it along the bottom lip and sticks it out all of the way and flicks it up and down a few times. I don’t think I’ve blinked or taken a breath the whole time. I know I’m still alive because my heart is beating at a pretty rapid pace. My cheeks are flushed and I can’t even look over at my dad. I don’t know if I’d rather have him watching Tyler or me. Maybe he didn’t notice.

I slowly look to my left in my dad’s direction and can see that he’s looking at me. How long has he been looking at me? I don’t know. When we make eye contact I blush even more. I don’t even know what to say. I should just go back to watching the game and pretend that my boyfriend doesn’t simulate oral sex every time he sets up for a face off.

“He won that face off, just in case you weren’t paying attention to the actual game.”

“Shut up!” I exclaim as I throw a pillow at him. He laughs while he catches it and throws it back at me. “I know he won it.”

“Sure you did.” I throw the pillow at him again. “Hey, watch the gelato.” I laugh. I can’t help myself. Between the memories of the gelato and Tyler’s uncontrollable tongue, I can’t hold in my amusement any longer. “I missed something, haven’t I?”

“No. Not at all. Pay attention before you do miss something.” I point to the TV as Tyler, Jamie, and Alexander race down the ice. There’s a shot on goal but it’s saved by the goalie. “Aw damn.”

“He’s got one in him. He’s in the zone tonight.”

And he is in the zone. He collects a few more assists and a goal. My dad swears up and down that he is the good luck charm and I let him have his little victory. He stays to watch the post game show with me. I am so happy to see them interviewing Tyler. I always love to hear him talk hockey, especially when they win. He’s in an especially good mood tonight. He’s joking with the media, smiling most of the time. It’s a great way to end the road trip. After the post game show my dad leaves. It’s getting late. Grace follows him to the door, practically begging him not to leave. “I’ll see you two on Sunday,” he says as he gives me a hug.

Not long after my dad leaves I get a phone call from Tyler. He usually calls me after every away game while he’s on the bus or on the way to the bus.

“Hey you.”

“Hey. Is Chuck still there?”

“No, he left a little while ago.”

“I got your text. It’s so cool that he’s wearing my shirt.”

“He says he’s your good luck charm. You’ve scored every time he wears it.”

“Tell him he’s not allowed to take it off then.”

I smile. “I will. Are you on the bus?”

“Yup. On the way to the airport.”

“It’ll be nice to have you home for the rest of the month.”

“I should find out about the all star game tomorrow. You have to come with me if I’m chosen.”

“When you’re chosen, you mean.”

“Maybe. A bunch of us guys are close in points. It could be any of us.”

“They showed you doing that ridiculous tongue thing tonight.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, we were eating gelato.”

He giggles. “Ohhh. Good memories. Did you get turned on?”

“My dad was sitting right there.”

“Awkward!” He laughs some more. “Did you save some for me?”

“I did.”

“Awesome.” I can hear him smiling in his voice. “I gotta get going. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Have a safe flight. I love you.”

“Love you too. G’night.”

Once we end the call I let Grace out for the last time tonight then head to bed. It’s been a long day and I’m pretty exhausted. Grace settles down in the empty spot next to me. Thankfully she doesn’t seem to want to be in a touchy mood tonight where she needs to be right up against me. She probably blames me for my dad leaving. She sulks extra hard right after he leaves.

I’m woken up by the feeling of the bed shifting next to me and I assume it’s Grace either changing positions or deciding to jump off until I feel the other side of the bed shift next to me as well. I still have my eyes closed, hoping I can just fall back asleep and that I’m just imagining things. I’m sleeping on my stomach and so comfortable at the moment. I finally found the perfect position after a lot of tossing and turning before I had fallen asleep.

“Don’t you think the real Seguin would look so much better on you?”

I smile into my pillow and open my eyes once I hear Tyler’s voice, but I don’t dare move otherwise, I don’t want to lose this position. “Of course he would. He should come join me.” I hear him chuckle and at the same time a bright light fills up the room. “Did you just take a picture of me?”

“Not only do you look hot with your leg the way it is, you’re wearing my shirt to bed and that’s just cute.” He leans down and kisses my cheek, then nibbles on my ear. “It’s not staying on for long, though.”

“Noooo, Tyler, I’m sleeping,” I whine.

“I’m horny.” He grabs the waistband of my pajama pants and slowly pulls them off of me. I don’t protest but I am not in the mood for this.

“It’s late.” I squint at the time on the clock on my bedside table. “It’s 3am.”

“I know.” He takes my shirt off next. “I should take a picture of this.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Mmm, skin so soft.” He places a kiss on my back in between my shoulder blades and starts working his way down my back, placing a trail of sweet kisses on the way down. I arch my back a little towards him. The sensation is sending chills down my spine. He continues the same thing on my butt, kissing all over each cheek. “Awake now?”

“Mhmm.” I finally turn over onto my back to see that he’s hovering over me and already naked. “You know, I gave you a key for emergencies.”

He smiles, leans down to kiss me, then kisses my neck before saying into my ear, “this is an emergency.”

I smile and pull him down for another kiss. “Are you a little worked up?” Even with the lights off I can see that he’s already hard.

He kisses my neck. “This is all I was thinking about on the plane.”

I run my hand down his body from his chest right to his cock. I wrap my fingers around it and stroke him a few times. “Were you touching yourself on the plane?”

He smirks. “Maybe a little.”

“A little? Naughty boy. Tell me more.”

“I had a blanket on my lap so no one could see. I had my hand on it the whole time. Every once in a while I’d rub on it but I was just holding it most of the time. I wanted to save it for you.”

“So hot.”

I stroke him a few more times but he grabs my wrist and intertwines his fingers with mine and holds my hand down on the bed above my head. “I’m going to cum if you keep doing that.”

“Isn’t that the point?”

He positions himself just so the head of his cock is inside me. “It is.” He takes my other hand in his and holds that over my head too. He slightly rocks his hips back and forth, teasing me. “But this feels so much better.”

I want to grab his head and kiss him, or pull his hips further into me, or grab his ass, or touch him any way but he’s holding my hands down firmly and isn’t letting me budge. “Fuck, Ty, stop teasing. I want to touch you.” I open my legs wide, inviting him in, hoping he will take the invite and fuck me.

He smiles and slowly leans down until his lips touch mine. Once our lips touch he thrusts slowly inside of me. I thought that since he got himself all worked up he’d go faster than this. It seems to be deliberate, like he wants to savor this, like he wants it to last forever.

Our mouths make love while he continues his slow and steady pace, never letting go of my hands. I suck on his lower lip a bit before running my tongue across it. He smiles in the kiss and opens his mouth to let my tongue in. He begins to go a little harder, but not much. My breathing starts to pick up a bit and a moan slips out of my mouth. He kisses me a little harder but everything is still very controlled.

He breaks from the kiss and kisses around my ear. I do the same to his. “You’re so perfect,” he whispers in my ear before kissing down my neck to my collarbone. He thrusts harder into me and starts to pick up his pace a little more.

“You are,” I say into his ear, “harder, Ty.”

I kiss his neck. “Oh fuck.” The hottest thing is when I can get him to moan. He’s usually pretty quiet during sex. I arch my hips up to force him further into me. I continue to kiss and suck on his neck and thrust towards him. He moans in my ear a few times. I lick my lips and smile. That’s all I wanted to hear.

He goes back to kissing my lips, this time with a little more passion and a little less control. He lets go of one of my hands for a second, only to hold them in place with one of his hands. The other goes to my breast and massages it. He moves his hand down my body and his finger brushes my clit. “Oh god,” I moan as he continues to rub circles around it, now pumping hard into me. I would be screaming his name if he didn’t continue to kiss me. Once he starts getting close to climaxing he kisses my chest and moves to my neck, which sends me over the edge. He doesn’t finish that far afterwards.

He finally lets go of my hands and i wrap them around him and bring him down to my chest. He kisses me a few times before resting his head down high on my chest. Our heavy breathing tapers off as we begin to come down from our high. “I’m going to sleep here if that’s ok with you,” he says.

“That’s fine,” I reply as I comb my fingers through his hair.

“That was better than phone sex, right?”

I chuckle. “So much better.”

“Thought so.”

“You can use my key for whatever reason you want, by the way, especially if it’s to do that.”

I can feel him smile against my chest. “Not that you have a choice.”

“True. There’s no telling you what to do.” I move the tips of my fingers up and down his back.

“Except when you tell me harder. I like that.” He looks up at me and smiles wide.

I smile back at him. “Welcome home.”

“It’s so good to be here in your arms, which is all the home I need.”

I hug him. “So corny.”

“You love it.”

“I do and I love you.”

“I love you too.” He scrunches his nose up when he says it, making him even more adorable than he already is. “We should probably get cleaned up and ready for bed. I have practice and you have work.”

“It’s too bad we can’t lie here forever although I don’t know how much longer I’d be able to handle you being on top of me like this.”

“Am I heavy?” He pushes down on me even more. “How about now?”

“Can’t breathe!”

He rolls off of me and kisses me. “Quick shower? Nothing extra, just a quick wash.”

“Yeah. Ok. It will save me some time before work.”

After we shower I put my pajamas back on and settle into bed. Tyler puts shorts on and joins me. I usually have to wait a day or two after he gets back from a road trip to see him so when he surprises me by stopping by in the middle of the night it’s always a treat, no matter how grumpy I might be for getting woken up. We don’t get to sleep next to one another as much as I would like so having him next to me tonight is really great, even if it’s only going to be for a few hours. I’ll take what I can get.


	23. Tyler's Birthday

Today is Tyler’s birthday. I’m looking forward to having a nice, quiet day with him. The last few days have been pretty hectic. We’ve spent the last four days in all star weekend madness. It was my first time being at any kind of all star game and it was extra special because Tyler was an all star. He was busy a lot of the time but we did get some quality time together in too. It was great to see him having so much fun out there. I was so proud of him. He works so hard to be the best that he can be and it’s great that he’s recognized for it each season.

We got back a little later than we would have liked last night so most of the morning I’ve been in bed with Tyler and the dogs. I’d be perfectly happy if we didn’t move from this spot all day. I don’t even need to eat. I’m very content where I am. Tyler’s propped up on some pillows scrolling around on his phone and I’m snuggled up to him, using him as my pillow. He has his hand on my back and every once in a while he will play with my hair or gently run his fingertips up and down my back. 

This is the perfect way to unwind from a weekend of drinking, running around, and events. It’s back to the usual routine, practice starts back up tomorrow for him and I go back to work. Work, practices, games, road trips. Lather, rinse, repeat. What is unfortunate is that I am going to have to leave the bed at some point today because my present for him is still at my house. For now I stay.

“I’m perfectly fine with staying here all day but is there anything you want to do for your birthday?” I ask. I don’t want to be selfish. It is his day.

“I was thinking of having some people over.”

“Oh.” Well, I guess there goes the idea of relaxing in bed all day together. I won’t even get alone time with him now. “How many is some?”

“Ok, maybe more than some.”

I sigh. “I thought we were going to relax.” It comes out whinier than I would have liked. I’m annoyed but I’m trying not to show him. He has the right to have people over if he wants to. I just thought today was going to be about us. I should have known better.

“Partying is how I relax.”

“I see. Now it’s a party. Not just having some people over.”

“Don’t be mad.” He kisses me. “It’ll be fun.”

“With your friends? I doubt that.”

“Some of them aren’t that bad.”

“You know something’s wrong when only some of your friends aren’t that bad.” I use air quotes for “that bad”.

“I want to celebrate my birthday with them, and with you of course. I just don’t see them as often as I used to. It’s not going to be as bad as you think.”

I roll my eyes and sit up. “I wish you would have told me.”

“I just started texting everyone. You asked me what I want to do. This is what I want.”

I scoot to the end of the bed. “Your friends hate me.”

“They don't hate you. And where are you going?”

“I have to go home to get some things.”

He grabs my hand before I can stand up. I look back at him. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“You have a party to set up, right? Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

“I’m getting food and drinks Favored later. We still have time until then.” He pulls me back onto the bed, wraps his arms around my torso, and pulls me back against him. “Don’t go yet.” He kisses my collarbone.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes as I move my head to the side to give him more to kiss. “This doesn’t get you off the hook.”

He chuckles and kisses the crook of my neck. “No?”

I whimper. “I have to go.” Damn him. Damn him for disarming me so quickly. 

“Good luck getting out of my arms, babe.” He holds onto me tight. 

The warmth of his skin against mine is enough to make me want to stay here. That reminds me that even if that’s what I wanted I can’t have that because people are coming over. “I really do have to go home, Ty, your present is there.”

“I just want you.”

“And like 50 of your friends.”

He lets go of me. “Fine. I’ll see you when you get back.” 

“Do you want me to pick anything up while I’m out?”

“Don’t bother.” And all of a sudden the warmth of his skin turns to ice.

“Don’t get like that with me. I’m just tired and we talked about spending the last day of the break together.”

“I changed my mind. I want to see my friends.”

“And I never said you couldn’t so don’t get an attitude with me. I am allowed to be a little put off by it, though.”

“Uh huh, bye.”

I get off of the bed, put some sweatpants and a hoodie on, and storm out of the room. I’m not wearing a bra but I don’t care. Hell, I’m not even wearing a shirt under the hoodie. I step into sandals, which probably isn’t the best choice but I just need to get out of the house before I lose my temper with him. I go to my car, turn my music on as loud as I can stand it, and start on my way to my house. There’s a small part of me that wants to stay home and not come back until later when we both have cooled off a bit, but I have to fix this sooner than later. It’s his birthday and I don’t want to be fighting on his birthday. 

When I get home I take a shower since I hadn’t taken one yet today then get dressed. I pack a few things for work tomorrow since I have a feeling I’m going to be sleeping over, unless he still has that attitude when I get back. Grace is at my dad’s until tomorrow so I don’t have to worry about her. I pick up the box with Tyler’s present in it and load it into the back of my car. One of my coworker’s sister is a painter that paints portraits so I commissioned her to do a painting of Marshall, Cash, and Gerry. It came out way better than I expected it to and I really can’t wait to show Tyler. I know he’s going to love it.

My drive back to Tyler’s isn’t as aggressive at the ride to my house was. My music is at a normal volume, I’m obeying all of the traffic laws, and I don’t want to strangle anyone. I’m still mad at him. Mad that he didn’t tell me he was making other plans, mad I don’t get to relax, mad his asshole friends are coming over, mad that he got such an attitude with me. I’m going to let it go and be there with him on his birthday. Grin and bear it. Maybe I’ll even try to have a good time.

Tyler and I have never really gotten into a fight before, not that I would call this an actual fight, but we’ve never really seen this side of each other before. I’m not worried, this is normal in relationships, there are going to be disagreements here and there. I’m hoping we can just move past it. 

When I get back to the house I open the door and carry the box into the house. The dogs come running and swarm around me, sniffing at the box. “This is for daddy, sorry guys.” Gerry jumps up to get a better look and almost knocks me over. “Oof, Ger, you gotta be careful.”

“Hey! Boys, off!” Tyler says sternly from across the room. Usually the dogs don’t listen to him all that well but I guess they can tell he means business because they quickly scatter. “Do you need help?”

“No.” There’s tension in the air and I’m not quite sure how to fix it right now. 

He walks over to me, takes the box out of my hand, and places it on the floor before hugging me. “I’m sorry for snapping,” he says into my neck.

I hug him back and rest my head on his chest. “I’m sorry too. Sometimes I get greedy when it comes to spending time with you.”

“I should have told you my plans. I’m still working on that whole communication thing. Forgive me for being an ass?”

“Yeah. I forgive you. Do you forgive me for being greedy?”

“Yeah. Of course.” He looks at where he placed the box. “Is that for me?”

“Yes it is. You wanna open it? Sorry it’s not wrapped. It just got delivered the other day and I didn’t have time to wrap it.”

“I don’t need it wrapped.” He grabs a knife and cuts the box open. He pulls the painting out, which I had to bubble wrap back up.

“I did a terrible bubble wrap job.”

“It’s fine.” He carefully pulls the bubble wrap off and holds the painting out in front of him. “Oh wow. This is amazing.”

“You like it?”

He looks around the painting at me. “I love it. It’s perfect.” He turns the painting around to face outwards. “Marshall! Cash! Gerry!” All the dogs come running over to us. “Look! Is this you guys? Do you like it?” The three of them wag their tails at Tyler’s excitement. He turns it around to look at it again. “This is great. I’m going to need one for the cottage.”

“I can have her paint you one. We just need to get a frame for this one. I wanted to do it before we left for the all star game, but it got delivered later than we thought it would.”

“We can pick out a frame together. I’m no good at that kind of stuff anyway.” He places the painting on the island in the kitchen, out of the dogs’ reach, walks back over to me and hugs me. “Thank you so much.” He kisses me.

“You’re welcome. Happy birthday.”

He smiles. “I’m going to start stocking the bar. That’s where everyone is going to be going first I’m sure.”

And just like that my good mood is gone, again. I almost forgot that people are going to be coming over and it’s not going to be just us. I’m annoyed. I don’t want this, but I don’t have much of a choice. 

“Did you invite anyone from your team over?” At least I like being around his teammates and any girlfriends or wives. I’m hoping he invited Stephen so I can hang out with Taylor. 

“Just Rads.”

“Oh ok.” I like Alex but him being here is not going to help me at all.

I help Tyler set up for the party as much as I can before the food gets delivered. The dogs are curious and following us around the house, trying to “help” in any way they can. We have an hour or so until the food arrives so I sit down on the couch to relax until then. A few of his closer friends stop by early. Chad, Brett from back home, and a few guys I’ve never seen before. 

I’m sure the dogs can all sense my frustration because instead of following Tyler around or greeting the new guests they stay close by and sit with me on the couch. Gerry, who has no personal boundaries, is in my lap and right now I am fine with it. I’m going to have to enjoy the quiet while I can because once everyone else starts rolling in I won’t have it again. 

Tyler walks in, leans over the back of the couch, lifts my head to face up, and kisses me. “I know you’re tired, there’s still time for you to take a nap if you want to.”

“I’m good here on the couch with the boys.”

“You should see if Faith and Scott want to come over.”

“I think they have something going on tonight with Jade.” And truth be told, as much as I would love some company I would not subject my friends to Tyler’s friends. 

“It’s beautiful out today so I’m setting everything up in the backyard. You should come out.”

“Maybe in a little while.”

“You’re going to be miserable if you don’t at least try to have a good time.”

“Don’t start.”

“I’m not starting anything. We can still spend time together even though my friends are coming over. I want you by my side.”

“I probably should take that nap.”

“That’s a good idea. Do you want me to wake you when the food gets here? I’ll need help.”

“Yeah. Ok.”

“You’re not gonna bite my head off if I do, right?”

“I can’t make any promises.”

He smiles. “I’ll take my chances.” I stand up and start making my way to the bedroom. He grabs my hand and pulls me back towards him. “Don’t go to bed angry.” He kisses my cheek. 

“I’m not angry, Ty.” I run my fingers through his hair and kiss him. “I’m just tired.”

“Better get some sleep then. I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”

I go to his bedroom and lie down in bed. A wave of relaxation flows through me. This is exactly what I needed. It feels so good to be in bed. I only wish he was here with me. Marshall and Cash join me in the bed and I fall asleep shortly after.

I’m woken up by the feeling of soft lips on mine followed by a slobbery wet dog tongue on my cheek and giggles. I smile and open my eyes to see Tyler hovering over me and Gerry doing the same. I smile. “Hey.”

“Hey, sleeping beauty, feel better?”

“A little.”

“The food is going to be here soon. The guys are gonna help me bring it in so you don’t have to worry about that, but I figured you’d want to start getting ready.”

I take a deep breath and sit up. “Yeah, ok.” I run my fingers through my hair then stretch. I’m not quite awake yet but I do feel a little more rested at least. I scoot myself off the bed and Tyler immediately collects me in a hug. I hug him and rest my head on his chest. “Happy birthday, Ty.”

He rubs his hands up and down my back. “Thanks.” He kisses my forehead. “Are we good?”

“Yeah, but ask me again later.” I smile.

“So fucking feisty.” He grabs me by the ass and pulls me up against him.

“Down, boy, your friends are here and I’m going to shower.”

I start to walk away and holds onto my hand and guides me back to him. He kisses me so hard that I forget where I am for a second, the room is spinning and even though my eyes are closed they still roll into the back of my head. We slowly pull apart breathless and smiling. “We still good?” He asks. That cheeky shit.

“Mhmm, yes.”

I start to walk towards the bathroom and he follows behind me. I look over my shoulder at him and he smiles before taking his shirt off. “I think I’m going to join you. I’m not finished with you yet.” He smacks my ass.

“Oh baby.”

He drops his shorts and begins to step out of them when a very loud “OH SHIT!” Comes from the other room. 

He sighs. “Fuck.” He puts the shorts back on followed by his shirt. “I gotta see what’s going on. Sorry, babe.” He kisses me quickly before rushing out of the room. 

I continue to walk to the bathroom to take my shower. I stand under the shower head letting the water run over me before actually starting to wash myself. I need to find the strength to get through this party. It’s not that I don’t want him to hang out with his friends, it’s these particular friends I can’t stand.

When I get out of the shower I can hear the commotion of people in the house. More of his friends have shown up. I’m tempted to stay here in the bedroom, but I can’t do that. I know Tyler wants me out there with him. This is to celebrate his birthday after all. 

After I get myself dressed and ready I drag myself out of the bedroom to find where Tyler is. The house is already full. It’s like they all came together or something. It’s an interesting mix of guys and girls. The girls are dressed like they’re going to the club and the guys are mostly dressed casually. Between the music blaring and the many conversations going on it’s hard to even hear myself think. So far I haven’t been able to locate Tyler, then I remember he said he was setting up outside so I make my way out there and sure enough he’s out by the patio playing beer pong.

He smiles once he sees me and holds his arm out for me. “There’s my girl.” He pulls me close and kisses my temple.

“How long was I in the shower for? When did everyone get here?” I question. It feels like the party has been going on for a few hours but they couldn’t have gotten here that long ago.

He looks at his watch. “Not that long.” He tosses a ping pong ball across the table and it bounces off the side of one of the cups. “Want to be on my team? I’m struggling here.”

I feel as if all eyes are on me, waiting for my answer. I want to say no but I don’t want to be a stick in the mud. I’m going to have to embrace this if I’m going to have any kind of fun. “Maybe just one round, I’m not very good.”

“She’s being modest, you guys, shes a darts champion.”

And just like that it’s like I’m back in college again playing beer pong with rowdy boys and trying too hard to fit in girls. I never felt the need to act a fool, try too hard, or be anyone other than myself. I always show up and do what I can do and that speaks for itself. Tyler and I get on such a roll that I actually stay to play a few rounds with him before we step aside and let others play. 

“I told you you’d be good at it,” he gloats before kissing me.

“I was trying to be modest.”

“No need. You’re amazing at everything and people should know it.”

“Not amazing at golf.”

“Ok, you suck at one thing.” He proudly smiles. “You’re getting better, though.”

“Thanks, Ty.”

He scrunches his nose up and smiles. “No problem, babe.”

A group of guys from the other side of the yard start screaming for Tyler. “Segs! Over here! Segs! SEGS!”

He looks over at them and back at me. “I’m going to go over there. Do you want to come?”

“No. That’s ok.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Go have fun with your friends.”

He kisses my cheek. “I’ll check up with you again in a little bit, ok?”

“Ok.”

I really do appreciate how Tyler is trying to include me in everything, but I can’t bring myself to hang out with his friends. I don’t think I could fake enthusiasm for that long and I know I’m not on their favorites list either. I will walk around and try to talk with some of the people here, I just don’t know how well it’s going to go. I’m pretty sure everyone here is younger than me and I know they all have way different personalities than me. I’m looking around and can’t find one person that I’m interested in approaching. 

I grab myself a beer and walk around the yard a bit. I have noticed the females at this party have started to look at me and talk amongst themselves, some of them even giving me dirty looks when they think I don’t see them. I can only assume they’re wondering what Tyler’s doing with me and not one of them. I try to ignore it, but it’s not easy. I need to find something to do to occupy myself. I really don’t want to spend the entire party being miserable. 

I feel like I’m wandering aimlessly, like I’m lost in a place I am all too familiar with, a place I consider a second home. I walk around so much that I drink all of my beer before deciding on where to stop. Everyone is having a good time but me. I contemplate going back to beer pong because I was actually enjoying playing, but I’m not sure how much fun I would have without Tyler on my team. I should hop in there but I don’t, I just watch.

“You want a beer?” a familiar Russian accent asks while putting a can of beer in my hand.

I look next to me to see the toothless smile of Alexander Radulov. “Yeah, thanks.” I knew Alexander was going to be here but seeing him gives me such a sense of relief. “It’s so good to see you, Alex.” I hug him. I can’t help it. 

He gives me a quick hug back. “You look not so happy.”

“It’s not that. I just don’t know any of these people, really. They kind of make me feel uncomfortable.” I can’t outright say I don’t like these people, although I don’t think Alex would care too much if I did. I’m trying to be diplomatic. 

“Seggy hangs out with a lot of assholes, doesn’t he?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” I have to fight a smile because they definitely are assholes. 

“I would.”

“I might agree with you.”

“You are allowed. I won’t tell.”

“They are all way different than I am, that’s for sure.”

“You can still have fun. It’s a party!”

“I’m trying.”

“No you’re not because you’re not smiling.” I try to smile. “No that is not a smile. What do you want to do? We can do it.”

“I wanted to maybe play pool but people are in there.”

“You want to play pool. You will play pool. Let’s go.” 

He starts to make his way inside and I follow behind him. “Uhhh, I don’t know.” He doesn’t say anything but checks over his shoulder to make sure I am still following him, which I am.

He stands in the doorway and waits for the people in the room to look up from their game. After a very weird minute of us watching these guys play pool they finally look over at him. “Game over. We play now,” he demands. They laugh it off and continue playing. “NOW!” His voice booms through the room, they jump up startled, put their sticks down, and scurry out of the room past us. He smiles at me before stepping into the room. This guy does not fuck around. 

He picks up the sticks and hands one to me. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do that. I would have waited.”

“You live here. You are boss.”

“Oh. No, no, no, I don’t live here.”

“Still, you’re Seggy’s girl.”

I smile. “Yeah. I am.”

“A smile! Finally. You smile for him.”

“Yes I do.”

We start to play and I learn very quickly that Alexander is not very good at pool. I try to go easy on him but I can only hold back so much. I really don’t want this game to end so soon because I’m sure he’s going to leave me, but he really isn’t able to get any of the balls in the pockets. I’m still having fun with him, though, he makes me laugh. He’s absolutely crazy in the best way possible. 

He manages to get a few balls in but I beat him pretty easily. He asks me not to tell anyone before leaving me to rejoin the party and I promise him I wouldn’t. I walk through the house a little before deciding to go upstairs and hanging out on the balcony. I need to get away from the party but the weather is too perfect to be spending time indoors. 

I look over the backyard from the balcony. There are so many people here. I can’t even imagine Tyler even knows them all. I only recognize a handful of them. They’re loud and obnoxious. Can nobody in Tyler’s circle hold their liquor? Someone turns the music up even louder than it already is. I let out a deep sigh. This is not how I thought today was going to go. 

“There you are.” Tyler walks up behind me, just enough that our bodies touch, and leans on his hands on the balcony rail around me. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“I needed space.”

“Can I stand here with you?”

“It’s your house.”

“I mean do you want me to?”

I look back at him and he smiles. I’m so mad that a simple smile makes everything better. The problem is it’s not a simple smile. It’s my favorite smile, the best smile, the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen. “Yeah. I want you to.”

“Ok good. I’d rather be here with you than with any of those people.”

“You invited them.”

“I know. I thought it’s what I wanted.”

“It’s not?”

“No. Not really.” He sighs. “I’m going to send everyone home.”

It takes Tyler about a half hour to clear the house out. He and I start the task of cleaning everything up from the party. It’s mostly beer cans everywhere. They surprisingly did a pretty good job of getting the food thrown out I’m not happy that I have to clean up after these people but I am happy they’re gone. I’ll take the early cleanup over the late night party any day.

After we fill probably 20 or so garbage bags we plop down on the couch. I am staring straight ahead and I can feel Tyler looking at me, staring a hole into the side of my head. We sit in silence for a while. I’m trying to collect my thoughts to figure out what it is I’m feeling right now. I’m not angry, maybe a little annoyed, but at the same time I’m relieved that they’re gone. I feel bad, like this is my fault that he ended his party early. I don’t want to be that girlfriend, the ruiner of fun.

“At least your friends have big appetites and there’s not much food left over,” I note, breaking the silence while still looking ahead. 

He laughs. I finally look at him. He gives me an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry for today.”

“I am too. I could have handled it better. I’m sorry that you ended it early because of me.”

He puts his hands on mine. “I didn’t. I ended it because I wasn’t having a good time either.”

“Oh.”

He gets on the floor and kneels in front of me, resting his forearms on my thighs and looking up into my eyes. “I know I screwed up. I’m going to make it up to you.” 

I comb both of my hands through his hair and he closes his eyes to my touch. “How?”

He opens his eyes and looks up at me with a devilish smile. “I can think of a few ways.”

I open my legs a little bit. “Just a few?”

He looks down in between my legs and back up at me and raises his eyebrows. “Yup.” He rolls his tongue over his bottom lip. “Don’t worry, though, it’s gonna last all night.”

“It’s _your_ birthday, though.”

“Hearing you scream my name is all I want for my birthday, babe.”


	24. Valentine's Day

I have never been into Valentine’s Day. I mean it when I say that. I’m not one of those people who say it for the sake of saying it, to make up for being single, or not having a day worth writing home to mom about. I really don’t care for it. It all feels so forced. I don’t need a guy doing nice things for me because society tells him to, I’d rather get a random gift on a random day just because. It’s more special that way. I told Tyler not to get me anything. This isn’t a trap to see if he’d listen or not. I genuinely don’t want him to get me anything. This kind of bummed him out because it’s his first Valentine’s Day with a girlfriend, but that’s it too, I don’t want there to be unnecessary pressure on him. He does plenty of things for me without there having to be a set day. I told him let’s just go out to dinner and have a nice night together. That’s really all I want. 

Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year and Tyler just has a practice so I’m at his house waiting for him to come home. Grace and I slept over last night after his game. Right now I’m sitting in the living room surrounded by dogs as I watch Food Network. Grace is on the couch snuggled up close, Gerry is next to me on the other side, Marshall is on the floor in front of me, and Cash is next to him. All we need is for Tyler to get home and our pack will be complete. He texted me a few minutes ago saying he was leaving so he should be here in about 20 minutes.

The sound of the door opening makes all of the dogs heads perk up. “I brought Chipotle! Who is the best boyfriend?” Tyler says in a sing song voice as he walks into the house. All four dogs run up to him and try to stick their heads in the food bag. “Not for any of you. Especially not you, Cash.”

“Leave the poor dog alone!”

“He doesn’t know what I’m saying. Isn’t that right bud?” Tyler says as he pets Cash’s head. He puts the bag down on the island and hugs me. “Hey, you.” He kisses me. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“You too.”

“You didn’t roll your eyes or burst into flames or anything. Wow.”

“I’m not a completely heartless monster.”

“I know. I’ve just never met a girl who really didn’t like Valentine’s Day, who says don’t buy me anything, Tyler. You know I love spoiling you.”

“You spoil me all of the time.”

“Which is why today should be no different.”

“Stubborn.”

He fakes a surprised gasp. “You! You are the stubborn one!” He squeezes me tight. “Love you anyway, though.”

I take his snapback off of his head and put it on the island next to the Chipotle bag and run my fingers through his hair. “Love you too.” I pull his face to mine and kiss him. He kisses me back and all of a sudden I feel like I’m floating. I’m on cloud 9 every time we kiss.

He kisses me quickly once more after we pull apart. “We should eat before it gets cold.”

“Right. Food.”

“I know I’m a good kisser and all but not enough to make you forget about Chipotle.”

“Kissing you is definitely in my top, like, 50 things,” I tease.

“Oh sure. Top 50. Whatever you say. I could make you cum with just a kiss.”

I smile. “Those magic hands of yours help with that.”

“Speaking of my magic hands, I have something special planned for you.”

“Tyler, I told you not to get me anything.”

“Relax, I didn’t buy you anything.”

“Ok…”

“You got me that spa day for Christmas and it was incredible. It was what I needed, more than I thought. You’ve been so stressed with work so I thought it would be good for you too. Since you won’t let me buy you anything I figured I’d bring it to you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t want anyone else’s hands all over you anyway.” He smiles. 

“You’re going to give me a massage?”

“I’m going to try my best.”

“I can’t wait.”

We eat our lunch and talk about our plans for next weekend. Faith’s daughter, Jade, is having a birthday party and Faith invited both Tyler and me to come. I wouldn’t miss it for the world but I wasn’t sure how eager Tyler would be to go to a seven year old’s party, especially because it’s going to be a princess party. He’s met Jade a few times, though, and likes her so he has no problem in going. He says he’s excited to do more “boyfriend things” with me and I think that’s cute. 

After we eat our lunch we go to Tyler’s bedroom and shut the door behind us. We don’t want any distractions of this massage and Gerry definitely would jump on the bed and want to be a part of it. 

“Check the closet,” Tyler says as he starts digging into a bag that he has sitting on his dresser.

I walk over to the closet door and open it to see a very fluffy and comfortable looking robe hanging up. “A robe, nice touch.”

He pokes his head in the doorway. “Thanks!” He disappears as quickly as he appeared. “Put it on.” He peeks back into the doorway again. “And nothing else.”

“I know how robes work, silly.”

He smiles. “Just making sure.”

I kiss him before he takes off again. “You’re cute.” I take my clothes off and put the robe on like he told me to. It’s so comfortable. I feel like I’m being hugged by a cloud, if clouds were actually soft and fluffy like they look. “Is it safe to come out?” The faint smell of lavender starts to fill the room.

“Yeah come over here.”

I step out of the closet and into the room to see candles lit all over. “What have you done?” I am blown away. I didn’t think he had this in him. He never stops surprising me. He’s standing in the middle of the room wearing only boxer briefs, almost looking a little timid. He is out of his element but he’s doing such a good job of making it feel natural.

“Do you like it? Lavender is supposed to be calming. It’s not too much is it?”

“It’s perfect. You’re amazing. This is so, so great. It smells like heaven.”

He points to the bed. “I had to put towels down because they said the oils could get kinda messy.”

“Oils? You’re pulling out all the stops.”

“Of course.” He puts on some music. It’s nice, and calming. A piano, that’s all it takes. He smiles. “Music to set the mood.”

“This is the perfect music to fall asleep to.”

“Let’s hope you don’t fall asleep. I have other things planned.”

“Oh really? Like what?”

“Stay awake and you’ll find out.”

“Ok. Can’t wait.”

He takes a deep breath. “Ready to start?” I nod my head yes. He spins me around so my back is facing him and slowly removes my robe. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck as he gets extra close to me, not close enough to touch but close enough for me to still feel him there. “Lie down on the bed on your stomach,” he says softly in my ear.

I do as he says and I lie down on the bed on my stomach and close my eyes so I can fully be in tune with the massage. I can hear him put a bottle down on the bedside table, I’m assuming it’s the oil. He starts off by rubbing circles into my temples. Gentle but yet effective. I can already feel a sense of calm rush over me. He runs his fingers through my hair on one side of my head, applying just a little bit of pressure to my scalp. The other side of my head soon follows. He applies a little bit of pressure to the nape of my neck and I almost whimper when he stops, but I know the best is yet to come so I eagerly wait for the next step.

I can hear him opening the bottle of oil and rubbing his palms together. He starts rubbing in between my shoulder blades and moves his hands towards one shoulder, massaging out the knots, then doing the same with my other shoulder. I feel a few drops of oil fall onto my back and he rubs his hands up and down my back a few times, spreading the oil. We’ve only just begun and not only am I very impressed with what he’s done so far I am completely relaxed.

“I’m going to sit on you but tell me if I’m too heavy, ok?” his voice quiet and hushed, keeping the relaxing mood. “Most of the pressure should be on my knees so it should be ok.” 

He sits down on my butt and I can feel his bulging cock against me, which sends a fire through my veins. He pays more attention to my shoulders and back as he goes over my muscles again like a fine toothed comb, making sure everything gets the attention they deserve. I let him know the places he needs to pay more attention to and he listens to me. I can’t help letting a few moans escape my lips. His hands feel wonderful all over my skin.

From my shoulders he starts to massage my arms, somewhere I didn’t think I had too much tension in until he started working all of it out. He pays special attention to my fingers and palms. It’s hard to tell that this is his first time doing something like this. It feels as if I’m being massaged by a professional, but it’s better than that because I know he cares about me like no pro could ever. It’s his attention to the details of my body and reactions the signals I’m giving him, some without me even knowing it, that makes all the difference in the world.

He slides down and off of my body, dragging his bulge down my ass as he moves. Next he starts to massage my legs. He starts at the top, massaging the inside of my thighs and around to the back. He makes his way down my legs to my calves and then makes sure to spend extra time on my feet. 

He works his hands back up my legs and to my butt. He applies very light pressure as he moves his palms in a circular motion on my butt cheeks. He kneads the muscles and presses up. I can’t help letting out another moan, it feels so good in every way possible. He hovers over me once more, this time I can feel his fully hard cock graze against my ass as he places gentle kisses in between my shoulder blades and works his way down my back. He places a single kiss on each of my butt cheeks before palming each of them. 

“Turn over for me.” The tone in his voice has changed from a little bit ago from soothing to desperate and demanding. I do as he says and turn over to lie on my back. I open my eyes this time. I want to see him as he continues.

He sits by my head and places it in his lap and massages my head again as we look into each other’s eyes. He smiles and places a gentle kiss on my lips before running his fingers over my breasts and cleavage, not touching my nipples which is driving me insane. From my chest he runs his fingers slowly over my stomach, past my belly button, and back up my body. He strokes his fingers up and down my waist and hips, leaving no stone unturned. 

I reach up and over his head and massage the back of his head and neck while kissing him deeply. I comb my fingers through his hair as he kisses me back, our lips doing all of the talking. He starts kneading and massaging my breasts, my nipples are hard as rocks. He leans down and kisses each of my nipples as he gently grazes the lips of my pussy and runs his finger down it. I moan and let out a deep breath as the anticipation of him touching me down there is finally set free. He smiles on my lips before kissing me deeper, this time letting our tongues get involved. 

He gets out from under me and sits alongside of me to get a better angle. I pull him back down to kiss me more and he starts massaging my breasts again before working his way down my body and applying gentle circles around my clit. I’m already wet for him and this just brings me over the edge. A euphoria runs over me as I orgasm. 

He starts kissing my neck, not even skipping a beat. I palm his erection in his boxer briefs and he nips at me from the touch. This is the first time I’ve gotten to touch him this whole time. He bucks his hips forward to my touch and groans in my ear. “I love you, god, I love you so much,” he says.

“I love you too, Ty.” I pull his boxer briefs down past his ass and he takes care of the rest. We look into each other’s eyes and smile as he continues to hover over me. I grab onto his ass and pull him towards me. I need him inside of me. No teasing, no games, just sex. It’s not just sex, though, it’s never just sex with him. Making love. I never thought I’d ever be the person to call sex making love, but how else can I possibly describe it? 

After we take the towels off of the bed we settle back in the bed and I cuddle up to him, resting my head on his chest and having one of my legs thrown over him. I insisted he keep the candles burning because the lavender smells so great, plus the candles really set a great mood. We also keep the relaxation music on since I’m enjoying it so much. Tyler plays with my hair and I give him a single kiss on his chest. I couldn’t have imagined this is how today was going to go. I thought we would just hang out and go out for dinner. This was way better.

“That was absolutely incredible, Ty.”

“So what you’re saying is Valentine’s Day isn’t as terrible as you thought.”

“I did not say that.”

“Stubborn.” He kisses my temple. “That wasn’t even everything.”

“What else more could there possibly be?”

“I told you I had more planned. Cuddles first, though.”

“I’m not sure I have the energy for something else.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He rubs his hand up and down my back. “Uh, on second thought maybe we should do the second part now.”

“What? Why?”

“You’re slippery.”

“Excuse me?”

“From the massage oil.”

“Oh. Right.”

“I’m going to move the candles and music into the bathroom. Stay here and relax.” He kisses me quickly before rolling over and out of the bed and starts to collect the candles. 

I rest my head back on the pillow and take a deep breath. I don’t think I could be more relaxed than I am right now. I could probably fall asleep but I’m curious to see what the next thing is. I’m pretty sure I have an idea but I still can’t wait to see what he has planned. The sounds of running bath water confirm my assumptions. It’s just what I need.

Just as I begin to close my eyes to relax them he comes back into the room. “Ok. It’s ready.” I open my eyes and sit up. “Don’t fall asleep just yet.”

“I wasn’t.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise but the bathtub was way louder than I expected it to be. I told it to shut up but it didn’t listen.”

I laugh. “Everything is perfect.” I get out of the bed and follow him into the bathroom where he set up some of the candles and has the relaxing music playing. “I have to say I’m impressed.”

“I did a lot of Googling, I can’t take all of the credit. I also asked a lot of questions at the spa.”

“Still, you’re doing all of the work.”

“I was supposed to do the bath thing before the massage but I kind of assumed you’d need one after.” He smiles and looks down with pink cheeks.

“You’re so cute. I love you.” I am starting to feel bad that I made such a big deal about not doing anything for Valentine’s Day. He obviously really wants to make this day special and I had been fighting it. I can’t fight the fact that I feel so incredibly lucky and thankful that he didn’t listen to me. This is everything I didn’t know I needed.

“I love you too.” He points to a huge bag from Lush that sits on the sink counter. “I didn’t know which one to pick so I bought all of them and figured you could use them whenever.”

I look into the bag to see it filled with bath bombs. “Oh my god, Tyler. There’s so many.”

“They were super helpful but I just couldn’t decide.”

“I bet they were.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Who wouldn’t jump on the chance to help a handsome guy?”

“I told them I have a girlfriend.”

“That doesn’t matter.” I start to look through the bag for the bath bomb I want to use. I pick each one up and smell them.

“There’s a list in there somewhere of what each one is.”

I start to take them out one by one to find the list. The first piece of paper I find is way too small to be a list of anything. I pick it up and read it. “It’s cute that you think they had no ulterior motives.”

“They were very professional.”

I shake my head. “You’re so naive.” I hand him the piece of paper, that happens to have a phone number on it, to him. “One of them wasn’t.”

His cheeks turn a bright pink, followed by his ears. “I did not ask for that.” He rips it up, drops the pieces into the toilet, and flushes it.

“I know you didn’t.”

“Now my romantic gesture is ruined by some thirsty rando. Great.”

“It’s not ruined.” I continue digging back into the bag to look for the list. I finally find it and start looking through it. The list has a picture of each bath bomb along with the ingredients and effects of each one. I look up from the list and smirk at Tyler. “There’s one called sex bomb.”

He smiles. “I know. I bought about ten of those.”

“We don’t really need help getting in the mood.”

“No but that’s ok. Is that the one you want?”

“It’s between three. I don’t know which one I want to use yet.”

“The water’s going to get cold if you don’t choose soon. Not the lavender one? It goes with the whole theme.”

“That’s not even on my list, but it probably should be.”

“Oh, no, no, no more adding to your list. Pick one.”

I smell each one of the three on my list once more. “I think I’m going to go with the Frozen one.” 

Tyler hugs me. “Enjoy your bath. I’m going to make sure the dogs are ok then I’ll go back to the bed so you can join me after.”

He leaves the room and I drop the bath bomb into the water. It starts to fizzle slowly and soon the bathtub is filled with a nice, shimmery blue color with white foam throughout. I lower myself into the bath and let the aroma of flowers with a touch of mint consume me. I immediately feel relaxed and I sit back and enjoy my soak. It’s going to be really tough for me to get out of this bath. I love how it’s making my skin feel. 

I rest my head back on the tub and close my eyes to clear my head as the soothing music continues to play and I take the smells of the bath and the candles in. I’m starting to wonder why I don’t do this more often.

I hear Tyler walk into the bathroom and breathe a deep sigh. I open my eyes to see him leaning back against the sink counter with his arms crossed over his chest. “Do you want another dog? Because I’m done.”

“Sure you are, babe.”

“This is it this time.”

“I’ll take him but you would miss him.”

“Nope. Done.”

“What did Gerry do this time?” It’s not even a question as to what dog he’s talking about. He doesn’t need to tell me who for me to know that it’s Gerry.

“He ripped up a throw pillow when he has a hundred toys he could play with. There was stuffing everywhere. He still had some of it sticking out of his mouth when I got in there, then he had the nerve to wag his tail and come to me for pets.”

“Oh no.”

He walks over and hands me a towel to wipe my hands off then hands me his phone. I watch the video of Tyler showing all of the stuffing on the floor and scolding Gerry. “He’s all yours if you want to deal with that.”

“You would last maybe a day before asking for him back. As I said, you’d miss him.”

“I thought we were past this stage.” He shakes his head. “He’s lucky I love him so much.”

“We all are.”

He smiles then takes his shorts off. “I’m getting in with you. Scootch up.”

“Tyler, I don’t know if you want to…” I start to warn him that this bath bomb also has shimmery glitter in it but before I can finish my sentence he’s in the water behind me. “It has glitter was what I was trying to say.”

“Is that gonna get on me?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. I’ll just wash it off.”

I lean back on him and rest my hands on his knees. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my shoulder. “This has been perfect, Ty.”

“I really put a lot of thought into it. I know you didn’t want anything but you know I always want to make you feel special. I love spoiling you. I love taking care of you. I just love you so much and you deserve this.”

“You are the best, really. I love you too and this bath is so much better with you in it with me.”

“It does feel nice.” He lifts his arm out of the water. “Oh yeah it is shiny, isn’t it?” He sniffs his arm. “Smells good too. I smell like a flower.”

“You’re going to use some of them, aren’t you?”

“No, these are all yours.” He rubs my shoulders. “You’re way less tense.”

“Thanks to you and those magic hands.”

“Any time you need a massage, or any other kind of release, let me know.”

“Will do.”

The rest of the bath I continue to lie back on Tyler’s chest as he holds me close. We take the time to sit in silence and let the music soothe our souls. His hands delicately explore my body as he tenderly kisses my temple, cheeks, neck, collarbone, and shoulders. I run my hands up and down his legs. As much as I love when he touches me, I love touching him too. 

“You should have chosen sex bomb.,” He murmurs into my ear.

“Mmm. No. We had enough of that for one night.”

He smiles against my cheek. “There’s no such thing as enough sex.”

“You got me there, but this is nice.”

He kisses my cheek. “Yeah it is.”

We relax together in the tub until the water starts to get cold and even then neither of us want to get up, but eventually we do. We dry off and both put robes on. I know this is nothing like a day at the spa, it’s so much better. We had plans to go out to dinner but at this point I’d rather stay here and not have to worry about getting dressed. I’d be content lounging around in this robe for the rest of the night. 

“I was thinking maybe we skip going out to dinner tonight and stay here instead.”

“That is the one thing you wanted and now you don’t? You’re so confusing.”

“I just don’t feel like putting clothes on.”

“You should have just said that. I’m not going to argue with that.”

I notice the shimmer from the bath bomb on his chest. “You are very glittery. It’s sexy.”

He looks down.”It’s going to wash off in the shower, right?”

“Eventually, yeah .”

“Eventually?”

“Probably.”

“It has to. They’re going to chirp me relentlessly if it doesn’t.”

“I like it.”

“You would.” He unties my robe and opens it. “I like that.” He smiles.

“You’re so bad.”

He hugs me and grabs my butt while he pulls me closer. “You love it.” He kisses me and I melt into his arms.

“I’m not denying that.”

He gives me a few more pecks on the lips, one right after the other. “I love you.”

I rest my head on the lapel of his equally soft and furry robe. “I love you too.”

“Let’s go order dinner.”

After we order dinner and sit down to eat, still in our robes, we settle in on the couch to watch a movie or two. The dogs, who have no doubt missed us all night, surround us and get settled in as well. Tyler is leaned back and I am using him as a pillow. Gerry and Marshall are in between our legs. Grace is in her bed and Cash is on the floor by our side. This is all I needed for Valentine’s Day. Sure, the massage, the sex, and the bath are all great bonuses but being here snuggled on the couch with my family is always the best feeling in the world. I’d trade everything to have this. Luckily I’m fortunate enough to have it all. Maybe I can admit Valentine’s Day isn’t as bad as I thought it was, as long as you get to share it with the right person.


	25. Jade's Princess Party

I remember when Faith found out she was pregnant. She and Scott had been actively trying to get pregnant for a little over a year. She was dejected and frustrated and started to think that they may need to start looking into other methods. The pregnancy hit her hard. She was feeling so sick with nausea and headaches and she was feeling tired all of the time. I suggested she take a pregnancy test. “Why not? It’s worth a shot.” She was so scared of it being negative. She couldn’t handle another failed test. It took some convincing but I finally got her to at least pee on the stick. She refused to look at it, even when I told her it was positive. It was almost like she didn’t believe me. We sat in her bathroom in tears and waited for Scott to get home to tell him. It wasn’t my baby but it was still one of the happiest moments of my life. My best friend’s dream of starting a family was finally coming true.

Jade is like family to me. Faith is as close to having a sister as I can get. When I talk about her I refer to her as my niece. She’s not my daughter, but sometimes it’s hard to tell. She’s a mini me except she has way more attitude, she gets that from her mother. She’s sassy, hilarious, smart, and she doesn’t hold back. She’s your typical girlie girl. She loves dressing up, playing with makeup, getting her nails done. She probably has more purses than I do. She is 7 going on 21. She is the definition of diva and I love her so much. I can’t believe how fast she is growing up. It feels like just yesterday we were all in the hospital waiting for her to be born. 

Faith begged me not to spoil her but how could I not? I bought her a motorized scooter that I know she’s been begging to have. I wanted to buy her a camera but Faith insisted I don’t, especially because she’s going to be giving her an old iPhone of hers and she can just use the camera on that. Tyler bought her a necklace that has a princess crown on it with diamonds. It is a princess party after all and she is a princess, that’s for sure. It’s going to be her first piece of real jewelry. It’s going to be extra special coming from Tyler. Jade has a little crush on him.

“What does a guy wear to a princess party?” Tyler asks as he stands in his closet looking at his shirt options, just wearing jeans at the moment.

“I’m pretty sure you’re the first guy to ever ask that.”

He looks over his shoulder at me and smiles. “You know if I don’t wear the right thing she’s going to point it out.”

I walk up behind him and hug around his waist and rest my chin against his back. “I’m sure she will be happy that you’re there no matter what you’re wearing.” I run my hands up the front of his body and back down before placing a kiss in between his shoulder blades. “I’m good with what you’re wearing now.”

He turns around to face me. “Not appropriate for a 7 year old’s birthday.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “Plus, how would all of the moms even be able to focus?” He smiles wide and proud. 

“You’re so full of it.”

“Pick a shirt out for me. I’m going to let the dogs out.” He pats me on the butt on his way out, leaving me with the impossible task of picking out clothes for him. He has so much to choose from and everything looks good on him. He is right about Jade being particular and not being afraid to let him know of her disapproval, but I really don’t think what he wears is going to matter much to her.

I finally decide on a plain black shirt that I know fits him well. I lay it out on the bed for him and continue to get ready while I wait for him to come back inside. 

“It’s really nice out today. Faith picked a good one,” he states as he enters the room. He puts the shirt on and looks down at it and back up at me. “Oh this one.”

“I like the way it fits on you.”

“Of course you do.” He smiles. He grabs my hands and places them on his chest. “How are you going to keep your hands off me?”

“I always seem to manage to go out in public without groping you.”

“But it’s hard.”

“Yup. No self control. That’s me.”

He laughs. “I know I’m going to have a hell of a time controlling myself. You look great.” He wraps his arms around me and kisses my forehead. 

“You’ll manage.” He lets go and I take one last look in the mirror. “Ok I think I’m ready.”

He picks up the gift bag the necklace is in. “Don’t want to forget this.” The scooter is already loaded into the G Wagen so we don’t have to worry about that. “Snapback or no snapback?”

“You know my answer to that question.” I’d burn all of his snapbacks if I didn’t think it would make him cry. He has such beautiful hair and he’s always covering it. 

He looks in the mirror and combs his fingers through his hair. “Then I’d have to do something with my hair then.” He looks up at my reflection in the mirror just in time to see me roll my eyes. “Such attitude. Just for that I’m going to wear one.”

“You were planning on it anyway.”

His dimples cut into his cheeks as he smirks. “You don’t know that.” He grabs one of the hats from his closet and puts it on backwards. “Let’s go.” I follow him through the house as he talks to each individual dog and tells them to be good. Gerry really is the only one he needs to worry about, the rest behave themselves. He ends the dog discipline tour with Grace. “You’re in charge, Gracie, make sure you keep these boys in check.” She wags her tail as he talks to her.

The first thing we see when we pull up to the house is the top of a pink bouncy castle sticking up over the fence that surrounds the backyard. I knew that Faith was going to go all out, I just wasn’t expecting a bouncy castle. I could see in my head Tyler in there with a bunch of six and seven year old girls. 

“I thought you were extra with your scooter gift but that bouncy castle may have you beat,” Tyler says as he turns the car off.

“Don’t act like you’re not going to go in it.”

“I am a mature adult.” I just look at him. “I am an adult. I’m not going in it. It’s for the kids.”

“What if Jade asks you to go in?”

“Well I couldn’t deny the birthday girl, now, could I? It is her day after all.”

“Mhmm.”

I hold Tyler’s gift bag while he carries the scooter inside. He makes a point to make sure that Faith knows this gift was all me and he had nothing to do with it. She’s used to me spoiling Jade by now. This is nothing new. Faith points out where Tyler can set the scooter down and he brings it over and puts a blanket over it. 

“I can’t wait until you have kids so I can spoil the shit out of them,” Faith says as we watch Tyler gently place his gift bag down on the table that is filled with presents. “You should probably get on that sooner than later. We aren’t getting any younger.”

“Don’t start.”

“It’s a fact. Is he going to be ready any time soon?”

“Considering we just started saying I love you on a regular basis, I doubt it. That would mean marriage and I really don’t think he’s ready for all of that yet.”

“If he’s serious about kids and serious about you he’s going to have to start thinking about that stuff. The longer you wait, the more complications there could be.”

“I know.”

“I’m just looking out for you.”

“Oh I know and I appreciate it.”

“The girls are out in the yard. You should go say hi before she sees you first.”

Tyler looks out of the window and into the backyard. “That is a lot of pink.”

“That’s Jade for you,” I reply as I take the place next to him. I link my arm with his. “Let’s go say happy birthday to the princess.”

He kisses my forehead. “Ok.”

We walk outside to the backyard to where Jade and her friends are. They’re sitting at a patio table with a very fancy looking tea set drinking what I am assuming is iced tea. Jade’s face lights up when she sees us. She bolts up from her chair, runs over to me, and leaps into my arms for a hug.

“Oof. You’re getting too big for that,” I grunt as I hold onto her and spin her around. I put her down on the ground. “Happy birthday, my love.”

“Thanks, Amy! Do you see all of this? Mom went crazy.”

“Because you asked for all of this crazy stuff?”

She giggles. “Uh huh.”

“You deserve it. I heard you’re doing well in school.”

Tyler clears his throat. I guess he’s feeling a little left out. “Don’t I get a hug too, Jade?”

“Yeah, of course.” She hugs him and he picks her up in a hug and spins around with her. She laughs. “You’re crushing me!”

He puts her down. “Sorry. You look so beautiful in your princess dress. I love it.”

She looks down at the ground bashfully. “Thanks, Tyler.”

“You’re welcome, kiddo. Happy birthday.”

“Can you sit with us? You gotta meet all of my friends.”

“Uh. Sure. For a little while.”

“Bend down for a second.” He does as she says. She takes his snapback off of his head and his hair flops into his face. “No hats at the tea table. Plus, you can’t wear a tiara and a hat.”

“Oh I’m not...wearing a tiara. I’m a boy, a man, I’m a man.”

“Boys can wear tiaras too, Tyler.” She places one on his head. “Beautiful.”

Tyler looks at me with a concerned look on his face and I have to fight extremely hard not to laugh. “Am I beautiful, babe?”

“So beautiful.” I take my phone out and quickly take a picture of him before he can protest. 

“Thank god you’re private.”

“Girls, gather around Tyler and I’ll take your picture.” They all spring out of their chairs and huddle around him. One of them fixes the tiara as it was a little crooked on his head. They all smile so big, including Tyler, and I take the picture. “Perfect.”

Scott walks over and places a beer down in front of Tyler. “Looks like you’re gonna need this.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Daddy! No beer at the tea table!”

“Not even for me, Jade?” Tyler asks in probably the most pathetic voice I’ve ever heard. 

“Mmmmmm. Ok. Just you.”

He smiles. “Isn’t Amy joining us?” He asks once he sees there’s no more spots at the table. 

“She hangs out with my mom.”

“Oh. But. She.”

“Bye, Amy!” Jade exclaims. 

“My feelings are only hurt a little,” I pout. Tyler gives me a pleading look. “Sorry, I’ll be back for you in a bit.” He holds his head in his hand and shakes it. “Have fun.”

I walk back inside and into the kitchen where Faith is preparing some snacks. I jump right in to help her. “Looks like she stole your boyfriend.”

“I was not invited to the tea party.”

She laughs. “Is he wearing a tiara?”

“Yup.”

“He’s a good sport.”

Scott joins us. “How long are you going to leave him out there for?”

“Jade is in her glory and he doesn’t seem to be having a bad time himself,” I reply. “I’ll get him when we bring the snacks out.”

“You can take Tyler’s spot,” Faith says as she starts cutting the little finger sandwiches into squares. 

“She doesn’t want me out there. Not when she could have the stud.”

“He loves the attention anyway,” I add. 

“And he looks adorable in that tiara,” Faith says as she starts loading the sandwiches on a tray.

I load the sandwiches I have been cutting onto another tray. “I’m not gonna let him take it off until we leave.”

We pick up our trays and deliver them outside to the girls and Tyler. I was expecting him to get up and follow us back inside when they asked for refills of the tea but he stayed where he was and picked up a sandwich, which looked microscopic in his huge hands. 

Faith’s mom Gloria and dad Joe arrive while we are outside delivering the tea. They give Jade hugs and kisses before walking over to where we are standing on the patio. 

“I didn’t know you were hiring a prince for this party,” Faith’s mom says.

Faith laughs. “Mom, that’s Amy’s boyfriend Tyler.”

She looks at me with a smile. “Well done.”

Faith shakes her head. “So embarrassing.”

Faith’s mom is the closest thing I have to a mom in my life. She has always treated me like one of the family and I love her so much. Faith and Jade definitely get their spunk from her. Faith’s dad is a lot more laid back. He’s a lot like my dad, which is probably why they get along so well. 

I smile. “I am pretty lucky.”

“Make sure you hold onto this one,” Gloria says as we watch Tyler throwing his head back with laughter. “He seems like a keeper.”

“He definitely is and I plan on it.”

“They’re so disgusting in love,” Faith teases.

“You were once disgusting,” Gloria retorts.

“They’re still disgusting,” I add, “Even after all these years.” Faith sticks her tongue out at me and I laugh.

“I like how you’re suggesting I’m old but we are the same age.”

“You’re a month older than me, old.”

Scott walks up behind us. “She’s not old and as beautiful as ever.” He kisses her cheek.

“See? Disgusting,” I say.

“Tell mom about the age difference,” Faith says.

Gloria raises her eyebrows. “Oh?”

I roll my eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Then you should have no problems telling her,” Faith says.

“Nine years.”

“There’s a name for that, right? Lion? Jaguar? Cheetah?”

“I think the word you’re looking for is cougar, mom,” Faith chimes in.

“I knew it was a big cat of some kind,” Gloria replies.

“I’m technically not a cougar.”

“Whatever you want to call it he’s significantly younger than you.”

“I don’t really think of the age difference much.”

“How could you? Too distracted by his body.”

“I just want y’all to remember I’m still standing here,” Scott says.

“Don’t act like you don’t have a man crush on him.”

“Faith, please, not in front of mom.” His cheeks blush.

“No one’s blaming you, Scotty,” Gloria says as she reassuringly rubs his back. She’s the only person in the entire world that gets away with calling him Scotty. He doesn’t even let his own mother call him that. 

“It’s not a man crush.” The tea party looks to be splitting up as the girls and Tyler all stand up from their chairs. “Oh thank god, a guy to talk to.” Scott rushes over to Tyler to grab him away before any of us get him. I guess I won’t be seeing much of him today.

The girls all walk over to where we have been sitting out on the patio. “How are all you princesses doing?” Faith asks as she stands up, anticipating them wanting something from her.

A collective “good!” comes from the group of girls. 

“Mom, can we do the piñata now?” Jade asks.

“How about you girls decorate your princess wands first, then we can talk about the piñata and kiss the frog.”

“Ewww, kissing a frog? Gross,” one of the girls shouts out.

“It's not a real kiss or a real frog,” Jade replies with a bit of attitude.

“It’s like pin the tail on the donkey,” Faith explains. “You put kissy lips on a frog instead of a tail on a donkey.”

“Is the frog going to turn into a prince?” One of them asks.

“A prince like Tyler?” Another one adds, giggling. 

“Tyler’s my boyfriend,” Jade says.

“Not quite,” Faith replies, shaking her head at her no filter daughter. 

“Amy shares him with me. Right, Amy?”

“Sure, sweetie.” I don’t want to burst the kid’s bubble on her birthday, especially not in front of her friends.

“Told you, mom,” Jade quips. 

“How about you all go sit down and I’ll bring out the supplies for your wands.” They all talk amongst themselves as they walk back over to the table and sit down. “I should have just called this a diva party and not a princess party.”

“You got that right.”

“And stop encouraging her. We all know you share Tyler with no one.”

“It’s harmless. She’s just showing off in front of her friends.”

“I’m honestly not sure if those are actually her friends or her minions.”

“Probably a little bit of both, knowing her.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

I follow Faith inside to get the supplies for the girls to make their princess wands. There are colorful foam wands with a bunch of streamers, stickers, gems, and princess themed shapes to stick on to the wands. It’s so creative and it’ll keep the girls busy for a while. She’s thought of everything for this party. I wonder to myself if I’d be this creative with my own kids but I quickly shake it off. I can’t be getting baby fever right now. Faith is right, though, I’m running out of time.

While the girls put together their princess wands Faith and I set up kiss the frog. Scott and Tyler work on getting the pinata shaped like a castle hung up. After we are finished setting everything up Tyler walks over to me and hugs me. I rest my head on his shoulder and he kisses my forehead. “You make a very pretty princess,” I say as I look up at him. He still has the tiara on.

“Thank you. I wasn’t sure if it clashed with my shoes or not.” He smiles.

I laugh. “It’s perfect on you.”

He takes it off and places it on my head. “Looks better on you.” He kisses me. 

I take my phone out and we take a selfie. We take this lull in the party as opportunity to get ourselves something to eat and drink. I’m not going to lie, a little part of me loves wearing the tiara.

“So Scott and I were talking,” Tyler starts to say with a little smirk on his face.

“Yeah? About what?”

“You.” His smirk slowly turns into a smile. 

“Oh god, what did he tell you?”

“A little bit of this and a little bit of that.”

I have a lot to be worried about. I’ve known Scott longer than I’ve known all of my friends. He knows just about everything about me. “Is it bad?”

He full on smiles. It’s as wide as his face, all of his teeth showing, dimples on full display. “Bad probably isn’t the word I’d use. It’s not bad for me anyway.”

“Are you going to tell me or not?”

“I didn’t know you had a record.”

I look at him confused. I’m not sure what he’s talking about. “A rec--oh.” Then it hits me. I know exactly what he’s talking about. 

“Yeah. Oh. It looks like I’m not the only one who was a drunk menace at a young age.”

“Oh my fucking god.” My cheeks are red hot and I hide my face in my hands.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

I look at him through my fingers. “How much did he tell you?”

“Everything. All of the details.”

“Just so you know, it’s not on my record because I was a minor. I was seventeen.”

He laughs. “That makes it even better.”

“I’m going to kill him.”

“Why have you never told me that story?”

“I don’t go telling my boyfriends about people I used to have sex with.”

“But this isn’t just any old boring sex story. That’s porn worthy shit.”

“I really can’t believe he told you. Actually he loves telling it. He’s proud of it for some reason. Freak.”

“You’re the freak. I love it. That’s so hot.”

I can’t see my face right now but I am betting it’s as red as a lobster. It feels like it’s on fire. “Well if you’ve been wondering, that’s how I got the scar on my lip.”

“What? How?”

“On the fence.”

“The fence.”

“Yeah. He thrusted a little too hard and I hit my lip on the fence.”

“Did he have you bent over?”

“I thought he told you everything.”

“I thought he did too. He just said you had sex outside of the guy’s neighbor’s house and you got arrested.”

“I’m really going to fucking kill him.”

“What other details am I missing? Just tell me the whole thing. I’d rather hear it from you anyway.”

I sigh. I know I am going to have to tell him this story because he won’t let it go if I don’t. 

“We were at this party and got drunk. One of our friend’s parents were gone for the weekend and his older brother bought a bunch of alcohol for us and we went crazy. Obviously we couldn’t drive back home so we walked back to his house. We were making out here and there the whole way back, groping each other, you know the usual teenage shit. It was like 2 or 3 in the morning so no one was awake or anything. When we got there things got a little carried away and at first he tried to pick me up and have sex that way but it wasn’t working so we walked over to his neighbor’s house and I put my hands on the top of the fence and we did it doggy style. At one point I hit my lip on the fence and soon after that the cops showed up. They took us in because it was someone else’s property and we were drunk. There’s no way I was going to call my dad to come pick me up so I called Gloria and she came and pretended to be my mom and took me to the hospital to get stitches.”

“She did? So Chuck doesn’t know?”

“No. The perks of your best friend’s mom being a nurse. He thinks I tripped and fell. If he knew that I got drunk it would have been all over for me, not to mention the sex and the arrest. I’d still be locked in my room.”

“And I didn’t think I could love you more.”

“You love me more because I was a naughty teenager?”

“Fuck yeah.” He kisses my cheek. 

Faith and Scott place their food and drinks down on the table to join us. I glare at Scott, who immediately smiles which tells me he knows exactly why I’m glaring at him. I can’t even embarrass him back because Faith knows everything already. He’s so proud of himself. Anything to get in good with Tyler even if it means throwing me under the bus. What a friend.

“Faith, how would you feel about becoming a widow?” I ask.

She pauses to act like she’s thinking about it. “It might be fun at first but then I’d miss him.”

I look at Scott. “You’re lucky she loves you and puts up with you and for some reason likes having you around and I happen to like it when she’s happy.”

“What did he do this time?” Faith asks.

“Sorry, bro,” Tyler says to Scott.

“It’s cool. Any chance to embarrass Amy I’m going to take.” 

“There are so many,” Faith notes. “Which one did you choose? How could you choose?”

“I hate the both of you right now,” I mumble.

“I’d love to hear more,” Tyler says.

“I think this one is quite enough.”

“Which one are we talking about?” Faith asks again.

“That time she got arrested,” Scott explains.

“Which time?” she replies.

“There’s only been one!” I exclaim, I look to Tyler to reiterate, “It’s only been once. I swear.”

Faith shakes her head at Scott. “Of all of the stories to tell him you told him that one.”

“You know I love that story.”

“It’s not yours to tell! Why would you tell him about the time I had sex with someone else?”

“It’s not a big deal, babe, I happen to love the story.” Tyler rubs my back, trying to comfort me.

I cross my arms over my chest and pout. “I really dislike all of you right now.”

Gloria walks over to the table and points to the girls, who have all gotten up from their table. “It looks like the natives are getting restless.”

Faith sighs. “I just sat down to eat. Of course.”

“Eat. I’ll do kiss the frog with them.”

“You will? Thank you.”

“Yes. Tyler and I will,” I clarify as I stand up from my chair.

“Tyler didn’t agree to that,” Tyler protests.

“Tyler doesn’t have much of a choice.”

He stands up and joins me as we call the girls to come over and play kiss the frog. We have them all line up next to each other so they can take turns trying to pin the kissy lips on the frog. I pick up the blindfold and call Jade over to me. “Birthday girl goes first.”

“Can we put the kisses on Tyler instead?” Jade asks.

I have to stifle a laugh at the boldness as not to encourage her. “Sorry, princess, he’s my prince.”

She shrugs. “It was worth a shot.”

“Blindfold, smarty pants.” She laughs as she lets me put the blindfold over her eyes. “No cheating.” I spin her around a few times, steady her, and let her go in the direction of where the frog is hung.

Tyler says into my ear. “Are you sure she isn’t your daughter?”

“Yes I’m sure.” 

He giggles and kisses my cheek. “This looks fun. Maybe I’ll play too.”

“After all of the girls go, sure.”

About half way through the line Faith and Scott join us in watching. Faith makes sure Jade is enjoying her party. She’s worked hard to make this the best princess party she possibly could. I know I’d be happy if this were my party, but Jade is particular about the way she wants things. Her hard work has paid off and granted her a hug from her daughter. Scott gets a hug too, although I am sure he did close to nothing to help getting everything together and set up. It’s not because he doesn’t want to help. Faith is very particular about she wants things as well. 

After all of the girls take a few turns playing the game they’re ready to move on to the next thing. Tyler still insists he wants to try so I put the blindfold on him and spin him around a few times and face him in the direction of the frog. He begins to walk towards the frog but turns back around and starts to walk towards me. He stops right in front of me and places the kissy lips sticker on my cheek. He raises the blindfold and rests it on his forehead. “Oh no, I missed your lips.” He smiles and kisses me.

“This is a child’s birthday party, you two,” Faith scolds.

“Sorry, I misheard the rules,” Tyler says with a big smile. 

Faith rolls her eyes and averts her attention back to the girls. “Pinata, girls?” They all cheer and walk over to where the guys hung up the pinata. 

Tyler and I hang back for a second. “You’re smooth, Mr. Seguin.”

“Yeah? You liked that?”

“Of course.” 

He kisses me again then hugs me. “Who knew I would have so much fun at a kid’s birthday party.”

“She’s not just any kid. She’s the queen diva.”

“You’re so good with her. With all of them really. I can tell she looks up to you.”

“She’s like my family. I love her like she’s my own.”

“It shows.” We hear the whack of the baseball bat against the pinata and turn around to look. There’s barely a dent in it. “Do you think they’ll give me a turn?”

“Don’t you dare. Let those girls have the fun.”

He squeezes me once more. “Want to go find a fence somewhere?” I step back and smack him on the chest. He laughs as he tries to defend himself. 

“You wish.” He smiles and places his hand on the small of my back as he pulls me towards him and kisses me. I rest my hands on his hips as I kiss him back. It’s a short kiss but full of passion and when he pulls away he’s leaving me wanting more. “Ok fine, later.”

“Really?”

 

“If you’re good.”

He smiles. “I’m always good.” Another hard whack of the pinata can be heard. This time it looks like someone took a nice chunk out of it. The candy hasn’t really started to fall yet. “We should go watch, that thing is gonna burst at any moment and I want to see.” 

We make our way over and watch the rest until one of them breaks the pinata and the candy drops to the ground. It’s a mad scramble to grab as much candy as they can. Of course Faith has extra candy in a bowl to make sure everyone gets a fair amount and no one leaves unhappy. She has thought of everything. 

“There needs to be adult pinatas,” Tyler states as we clean up the aftermath.

Scott hands Tyler a runaway piece of candy that he found. “There would be no point. The first person would break it.”

Tyler unwraps the lollipop. “Not if it was made tougher.” He sticks it in his mouth and they continue to clean up. 

Faith has a few coloring activities set up on the table for the girls to enjoy as they go through their candy. Some of them stay to color while the others start to make their way over to the bouncy castle. Jade begs him to go on with them and at first he refuses but agrees to only if they behave. A big guy like him in there could be dangerous if things get too out of hand. I stick around to make sure no one gets hurt.

Faith joins me. “Is that Tyler laughing in there?”

“Yes. My boyfriend is a child.”

“We have established you are a cougar so…”

“You guys sure do know how to embarrass me on all of the levels.”

“It’s because we love you. Who you really have to worry about is mom. She knows everything and doesn’t have a filter.”

“Oh god, you’re right.”

“You know Scott wouldn’t have told Tyler if he thought Tyler would have gotten mad from the story. He likes Tyler and he loves you and wants you to be happy. “

“I think Tyler enjoyed it a little too much.”

“Then you should thank Scott for the amazing sex you’re going to have tonight.”

“Every time we have sex is amazing. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“You live quite the life.”

“Your life is pretty great too, you know. You have a husband that adores you and a great kid. You’ve done an amazing job with this party. Everything is perfect and the girls really seem to be having the best time. My kid is having a great time, obviously.”

She laughs. “Thanks. You know it’s all Jade’s been talking about. Tyler’s been a real hit at the party too.”

“I can’t believe these girls. I swear we didn’t think boys were cute at their age.”

“Maybe not but he’s not a gross little boy either.”

“True.”

“They probably don’t even know what they’re saying half of the time.”

Tyler is the first one to emerge from the bouncy castle. He’s still laughing as he crawls out then continues to smile as he walks over to us. He drapes himself over my back and I struggle to keep him up as he’s putting his full body weight on me. He mumbles something about fun and needing a drink and leaving things to the kids or something like that before kissing me on the cheek and walking inside. 

I stay with Faith to supervise the girls in the bouncy castle to make sure nobody gets too rowdy. It does look like they’re having a lot of fun but I can’t see myself getting in. She wants it to get as much play as it can since she rented it. She’s glad they’re having a good time in it and it wasn’t a waste of money. After the girls get out she has them all pose with their princess wands in front of it so she can take a picture. 

“Who’s ready for cake?” Faith enthusiastically shouts. The kids all cheer. “Everybody inside then!” 

They all run inside and we follow behind them. While we were outside with the girls Scott has been inside with Gloria and Joe setting up for cake. They’re like a well oiled machine. When we get inside I see the cake set up in the middle of the dining room table. It’s huge, way bigger than it looks in the picture that Faith sent me earlier. It has two tiers. The bottom tier has bands of frosted roses going from a pink to a lighter pink and fading to white. The second tier is pink with sparkly gems on it with a princess crown on the top. A real one. One that Jade will probably grab and put on right away. 

The girls gather around the table and gush over how beautiful the cake is. Jade has the biggest smile on her face. Score another one for mom. The birthday girl is happy. 

Everyone settles in to sing happy birthday and she blows out the candles with one breath. 

“What did you wish for?” Tyler asks.

“I can’t tell you! Don’t you know the rules?”

“I guess I don’t, sorry.” He turns to me. “The attitude on that little girl.”

“She’s a peach, isn’t she?”

“I think she scares me a little.” 

I laugh. “She’s probably going to rule the world someday.”

After all of the girls get their slices of cake we get ours and head into the living room to eat on the couch. Tyler took a little piece since he doesn’t want to eat too much sweets, which doesn’t stop him from taking pieces off of my slice after he’s done with his.

“Knock it off. Get another piece if you want more,” I say as I pull my plate away from him.

“I just want a few more nibbles.” He kisses my cheek and then my neck quickly.

“Of me or the cake?”

“Both.” He wraps his arm around me and I put my empty plate down on the coffee table before I drop it on the floor. “Its cute you’re still wearing the tiara.”

I lean into him as he continues to hold me. “Well it is a princess party.”

“When is this princess party ending? I want to get you home.”

“Patience, my love. You have to be good remember?”

“It’s not easy.”

“I know. You’re doing so well, though. It shouldn’t be too much longer. She’s gonna have her open the presents soon. After that it should wrap up.”

“You and your extra present. Show off.”

“Listen, I know that necklace is real diamonds so don’t start with me.”

He smiles. “Fine. We both spoiled her. I can’t help it.”

“Does she remind you of someone?”

“Yeah, you and Faith.”

“You.”

He scoffs. “Me? No way.”

“She’s got your sass and attitude. You can’t even deny it.”

“I haven’t known her that long so I couldn’t have influenced her. That’s all you two. You can’t blame me for that.”

“I’m not blaming you, I’m just saying that’s why you feel a strong connection with her.”

“She’s important to you so she’s important to me. Yes she’s a cool kid with a mouth on her, but you consider her family so I do too.”

I’m almost taken aback by the sentiment. I have to catch my heart in my throat. “That’s incredibly sweet.” 

He smiles and kisses me. I kiss him back and perhaps get a little too into it until a clearing of a throat breaks us apart. “There are children in the room,” Faith sternly says, followed by the little giggles of the girls. 

“Oooooooo. Busted,” Jade teases. 

Tyler and I blush and look down as we apologize in unison. Faith smiles and shakes her head at us as everyone files into the room to get ready to watch Jade open her presents. I ask Faith to either have her open the ones from Tyler and I last or maybe after her friends go home, not like mine is well disguised anyway, but I don’t want her friends to think of her differently because she’s getting more expensive gifts. Faith lets Jade make the decision and she feels just the opposite, though, and opts for showing off. I should have known. 

Jade can hardly contain her excitement as she stands next to the scooter that is still under the blanket. Tyler and I both have our phones up like proud parents to capture the whole thing. She pulls the blanket off of the scooter in quite a dramatic fashion and squeals with delight as she jumps up and down. “It’s the one I wanted!” She exclaims before running over to me and hugging me so tight. “Thanks, Amy, I love it!”

“There’s a catch. You have to continue doing well in school and only ride it when you have mom or dad with you. It’s a big responsibility, not a toy.”

“I can do that, promise. Love you.”

My heart fills with joy every time she tells me and this time I find myself fighting back tears for some reason. “Love you too, sweetie.”

“Don’t forget mine, Jade,” Tyler says as he points to his gift bag on the table. 

“I wasn’t, Ty-ler!”

“Alright then Jade-Marie!”

She giggles. “That’s not my middle name.”

“It is now,” he quips back.

“You can't do that!”

“Just open it.”

“I am!”

Faith interjects before we are sitting here all night watching the two sass monsters argue back and forth. “That's enough, children.”

“She started it,” Tyler mumbles. Jade sticks her tongue out at him and laughs. “I'm taking my gift back.”

“No! I'm opening it.”

Once again we hold our phones up to take video of her opening the present. Her eyes go wide with excitement as she pulls the box out of the bag. I can't help looking at Tyler, who has a smile on his face anticipating her reaction when she sees the necklace. She opens the box and pulls the necklace out.

“It's beautiful,” she says with wonderment as the diamonds sparkle in the light. “So sparkly! I love it. It's perfect. Thank you, Tyler.” She walks over and hugs him. 

“You're very welcome, princess.” He hugs her back and kisses her cheek. 

“Can you put it on me?” She asks as she delicately holds it out for him.

He takes it from her. “Of course. Turn around.” she turns around and he pushes her hair aside as he clasps the necklace closed around her neck. “Let me see.” She turns around and poses. She has the biggest smile on her face. He laughs. “It's perfect. Very pretty.”

“Thanks, Tyler.” She blushes a bit. “Mom! Did you see?” She runs over to Faith to show her. 

I rub Tyler's back. “You did good. Did you see that smile?”

“Yeah. It's no scooter, though.”

“It's special to her. You can tell. Her crush bought her jewelry.”

Scott walks over and sits down next to me. “You know it's going to be impossible to stop her from wearing that to school.”

Tyler shrugs. “Sorry, man. Had to spoil the kid.”

“We still have you beat with that iPhone. She would not put it down all morning. Faith had to take it away for the party or she would have been glued to it.”

Tyler looks at me. “She really is like me.” 

“Yup, kindred spirits.” He smiles proudly. 

After the excitement of opening the presents wears off the party starts to die down. A lot of the kids get picked up by their parents and go home. A few of Jade's closer friends stay over a little while longer. Jade sets up a nail polish station and paints her friends nails, fingers and toes. It's one of her favorite things to do. I think her hand is steadier than mine when it comes to applying nail polish. 

“Tyler, can I paint your toes?” She asks after she finishes up with her friends. 

“Uh, sure.”

I look at him with surprise. “Really? Sure?”

“It's her birthday. Can't really say no. It's not a big deal. Just toes.”

He takes his sneakers off and walks over to where she's set up. She looks at his feet with a disgusted snarl. “Maybe just your fingers.”

Faith shakes her head at her daughter. “Don't be rude.”

“But, mom.” She shakes her head. “No. I can't.”

“So mean to me,” Tyler whines. 

“You need to do something about your feet.”

“I was born with them. I can't.”

“Palms on the table. What color do you want?”

“Black.”

She rolls her eyes. “I don't have black.”

“Green then. Victory green.”

“Pink or purple?”

“Those are my only choices?”

“Yeah.”

“Amy likes purple, right? So I gotta go with purple.” He looks over at me with a proud grin on his face.

She smiles. “Good choice.”

She begins to paint his nails and they talk while she does it. I try not to listen in to give them their privacy but it’s hard not to. I always love to watch Tyler interacting with kids. He’s so good with them and they always have a good time talking to him. Jade really enjoys any time she can hang out with him. He always makes her laugh. 

Faith sits down next to me on the couch and we watch them interacting with one another. “Are you sure he’s not ready for kids?” She asks in a hushed tone so only I could hear. 

“Pretty sure.” 

“Have you even seen him today?”

“Being good with other people’s kids and wanting a kid of your own are two very different things.”

“Maybe so but he’s got that look in his eye.”

Jade and Tyler both burst out hysterically laughing and even though the sight melts my heart I know that it’s way too early in our relationship to be thinking about kids with him. The words from earlier ring in my head. ‘You’re running out of time’. I’m well aware of the fact but that’s no reason to start a family if you’re not ready. Tyler and I lock eyes and we smile at each other. He holds up his one hand to show me his perfectly painted purple nails. I give him a golf clap to signify my approval. Jade scolds him for moving and his attention goes right back to her. 

“You have to let them fully dry or they’ll be ruined,” Jade informs him after finishing up both hands.

“Maybe another day I can come back for my pedicure.”

Jade shakes her head no. “I don’t think so. That’s a job for a professional.”

Tyler looks over at us. “Do you see how she talks to me?”

She stands up and hugs him around his neck. “I’m truthful because I love you.” She kisses his cheek. He smiles wide and has a little blush on his cheeks. I think all of us in the room are relishing in the sweet moment. Jade walks over to where we are sitting. “Mom, can I have the phone now? I want to take selfies.”

“Yes you can. You’ve been very good about not asking for it today.” Faith gets up and leaves the room to get the phone.

“You take selfies?” Tyler asks. 

“Kids are taking selfies in the womb nowadays,” Scott jokes, although he’s not that far off.

“Can we take a selfie,Tyler?” Jade excitedly asks. 

“Of course,” he replies with the same enthusiasm. 

Faith comes back into the room and hands Jade the phone. It’s a little crazy to me that a seven year old has a cell phone but at the same time I definitely understand the benefits of her having it. There’s just so many things she can get into on the internet. 

Jade and Tyler take a few selfies. She probably takes better selfies than I do. I feel like technology is automatically etched in their brains now. Two year olds are able to navigate iPads. I feel old just thinking about it. The fear of running out of time returns. I’ve never been more aware of it than right now.

“Amy, can you take a selfie with me?” Jade asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“Absolutely.” She sits next to me on the couch and we take a few. “You have to send those to me so I can have them too.”

“I don’t have your number.”

“You definitely should in case of an emergency.” I take the phone from her and add myself to her contacts and send the pictures to myself while I have it. I hand her back the phone. “Now I can send you some pictures I took today so you have them.”

“Mom, can I post the selfies to Instagram?”

“You have an Instagram?” Tyler asks with a bit of concern. He looks at Scott. “You let her have an Instagram?”

“There are rules and she knows what will happen if she doesn’t follow them.”

“But…” Tyler pauses because he knows that he has no place in questioning their parenting. 

“It’s private and I can’t follow or post anything without permission,” Jade states. “Do you have an Instagram, Tyler?”

“I do.”

“Daddy, can I follow Tyler and Amy?”

“You can and you can post your selfies as long as it’s ok with them.”

“Of course it’s ok,” I say. Tyler nods in agreement. “I have a lot of pictures of you on mine.”

Her whole face lights up. “You do?”

“Yup! You’re my niece, one of the most important people in my life.” She smiles and hugs me. I take the phone from her so I can follow me and Tyler from her account.

Jade looks around on her phone while we talk more about the rules they have in place for her to have the phone. Scott and Faith have everything all fired out. You can tell they put a lot of thought into their decision and that they have a lot of trust in Jade to do the right thing and be responsible with it. The worry is not Jade and what she could do but the rest of the world. 

“You have your shirt off a lot, Tyler,” Jade says, almost in a disapproving tone.

“Let me see, Jade,” Gloria says as she holds her hand out for the phone.

“Mom!” Faith exclaims with embarrassment.

“What? I need to see what my granddaughter is being subjected to.”

“Sorry,” Tyler says to Scott. His eyes go wide. “Um, maybe don’t let her scroll too far down on my profile. There’s a certain zamboni picture she probably shouldn’t see.”

Gloria scrolls through the pictures on Tyler’s profile. “Very nice, Tyler.”

“Thank you, Gloria.”

“I feel like this isn’t appropriate,” Scott says as he takes the phone from Gloria and shuts Instagram down. “Just look at new pictures from Tyler, ok Jade?”

“Yes, daddy.”

“I really am sorry, guys,” Tyler says.

“It’s ok, Tyler, there are worse things out there she can get into,” Scott replies.

“You and your body ruining things,” I tease. 

“I know. Shameful.”

I look at the time and it’s getting late. “On that note we should probably get going. Tyler has practice tomorrow then leaves for a road trip.”

“What if my nails aren’t fully dried? I don’t want to ruin them,” Tyler says in all seriousness.

“I really don’t even know how to respond to that.”

“Don’t. Pretend that I never said it.”

“No, that one is going in the old memory bank for later use.”

“I can’t believe I said that.”

“I’ll drive so you don’t ruin your nails, princess.”

“You’re going to pay for that.”

“Promise?”

“Guys, you’re not alone, remember?” Scott says.

“Sorry, Scott. We are heading out.” I look at Jade, who is still focused on her phone. “I don’t think she’s hearing much anyway.” I stand up to get going.

“I can hear you guys fine,” Jade says then looks up and smiles at me. 

“Did you have a good birthday?” I ask before leaning down and kissing her forehead. 

“The best!”

“Good. You behave, ok?”

“Always.”

Tyler walks over and hugs her. “Happy birthday, princess. Don’t spend too much time on Instagram. That stuff’s no good for you.”

“I won’t” She hugs him. “Thanks for coming to my party.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Thanks for painting my nails. All the boys in the locker room are going to be jealous.”

“You don’t have to keep it. I don’t want you to get made fun of.”

“They can make fun all they want.”

She smiles. “Ok.”

Tyler and I say goodbye to everyone else and head out to the car. I hold my hand out for the keys and he smiles as he pushes my hand away and gets in on the driver’s side. I didn’t think he was going to let me drive but it was worth a shot. His cars are very important to him. He also likes to show off. He revs the engine a few times before pulling away. 

“I think it’s safe to say you were a big hit at the party,” I say once we’ve gotten on our way back to his house. I’ve been spending most weekends he’s home sleeping over his place. Tonight will be the last time I get to spend with him in a week and a half. He is going to be leaving in the morning for practice, then the airport and I will be going to my dad’s for our usual Sunday.

“With Faith’s mom or the girls?”

“Both.”

“I had a great time. Jade, I love her, little spitfire.”

“She loves you too. You two are so cute together. It really means a lot to me that you’ve embraced her like you have.”

“She’s great. All of your friends are great. You mean a lot to them. It shows more and more each time I’m around them.”

“Yeah, we’ve all known each other for so long. We are a big family.”

“A big family who shares each other’s deepest, darkest secrets.” He raises his eyebrows up and down suggestively. 

“Are you still on that?”

“I’m going to be on that for the rest of my life, or at least until I can top it.”

“How are you going to top it?”

“I haven’t figured it out yet, but I will, you can count on that.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Until then would you settle for my bedroom in about ten minutes?”

“Yes. I. Would.”

He smiles. “Perfect.” He stops at a red light and kisses me until the light changes and someone has to honk to break us apart.


	26. Tyler's ball hockey court

Today is a day that I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. Tyler is going to be donating a ball hockey court to one of the local Boys and Girls Clubs. This will be the third one he’s donated. He’s going to help finish putting it together, do a ribbon cutting ceremony, and play some ball hockey with the kids from the Boys and Girls Club. He told me the other two were such a success and he is excited for the newest one. He has practice and then he will go to the park right after. It’s on a Sunday so I’m having brunch with my dad then heading over to the park afterwards. 

What is also exciting but somewhat nerve wracking at the same time is Tyler’s mom flew down to be a part of it. This will be the first time I’m going to be meeting her. I know I shouldn’t be nervous, but I am. I want to make a good impression. I know how close they are. It’s important that she sees that Tyler made the right choice in falling in love with me, not that love is really a choice at all. I shouldn’t have any problems but you never know what someone else is going to think of you, especially someone who will want to be protective of her son. Tyler assures me I have nothing to worry about but that doesn’t stop me from worrying anyway.

“How are you feeling about today?” My dad asks once the waiter leaves from taking our order. 

“Excited and nervous. I’m proud of Tyler for being so active in the community but I’m meeting his mom for the first time today too.”

“Why is that something to be nervous about?”

“Because I'm his first serious girlfriend and he's her baby and she could be really protective of him.”

“Like I am of you?”

“Yes and no.”

“If I can accept Tyler so quickly you will have no problem with his mom.”

“It's great that you're self aware but it's not the same thing.”

“I know it's not. I have way more reasons to be concerned of him than she does of you. In fact, she has absolutely no reason to be concerned of you at all.”

“He's famous and rich and she could think I'm after his money or status.”

“That's ridiculous. Do you think he doesn't talk to her about you at all? I bet she has a pretty good idea of who you are and that's not it.”

“You just never know. I worry. I love him. I just want her to know that I'm not like that.”

“Just be yourself and you'll have no issues. She's going to love you. Everyone does.”

“Thanks, dad.”

“You are his first love for a reason. Don't forget that.”

“I’ll be more at ease when I’m with him I think.”

He smiles. “Of course.”

“Are you excited for this wedding?” The reason he can’t go to the court reveal today is that he’s going to one of his fellow coaches son’s wedding. 

“As one could be. You know I’m not too into dancing and things of that nature.”

“I know. Maybe you’ll meet someone that will make you want to dance, though.”

He rolls his eyes. “This isn’t the movies.”

“You never know.”

“Remember to tell Tyler I would have been there otherwise. You know I love to support him. This is a great thing he’s doing and should be recognized.”

“He knows but I’ll make sure to tell him.”

After brunch with dad I plug the park into my GPS and head over. I’m probably going to be getting there a bit earlier than Tyler and Tom Holy will be, but there’s not enough time to go anywhere else. This will give me time to check it out by myself and try to calm down. The nerves are getting to me a little bit. I send Tyler a text to let him know I am here and I sit in my car until I start to see people arrive.

It looks like the people from the Boys and Girls club and some of the families have arrived already. My head is on a swivel waiting for Tom Holy’s car to pull up. There’s still an empty spot next to my car that I hope they are able to park in. I text Tyler to let him know so he can tell Tom to park next to me. He informs me they will be here shortly so I get out of the car and wait for them. 

_We are pulling up now. You’re looking sexy._

I smile and blush as I read the text from him. 

_I see that smile._

Tom pulls up and does park in the spot next to mine. I see that Tyler and His mom are in the back. Tyler is the first to get out of the car and walks right over to me to give me a hug. He buries his face in my hair and neck and mumbles, “I missed you.” As he squeezes me tight. He’s been on a road trip for the past week and this is the first time we are seeing each other since he got back. He lets go of me, kisses my cheek, and wraps his arm around my back. “Mom, this is Amy.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Jackie,” I say as I extend my hand to shake hers.

She immediately pulls me in for a hug. “I am so happy to finally meet you. This is great. We will have to spend some time together while I’m here.”

“Absolutely.” 

She’s so cheery and easy to talk to. I can see where Tyler gets it from. My nerves are quickly put at ease once I see how warm she’s being towards me. She doesn’t seem worried for her son at all, just happy that he’s happy. I can finally relax a little and enjoy this day. 

Tyler comes up behind us and drapes his arms over both of our shoulders. “It’s so good to see my two favorite girls getting along. We are moving on to the court now.”

Tom leads the way as the three of us follow behind him. Tyler is still holding onto us, making it a little difficult, but I’d never push him away. He is beaming with happiness and pride. We lean on the boards to check out how the court looks. It has Tyler’s TS logo in the center along with the Dallas Stars Foundation logo and his signature on other parts of the court. 

“Each one looks better and better, I swear,” Tyler says as he pats Tom’s back. “They did a great job. Can’t wait to see the kids out there playing.”

“We are still waiting on the rest to show up along with some media,” Tom informs.

“Perfect time to get some pictures taken then, Tom,” Tyler says as he hands Tom his phone to take pictures. He opens the door to the court and starts walking out onto it.

“Mom and Amy, picture time, get over here,” he calls to us from the middle of the court. Jackie and I join him and we take a bunch of pictures together before more people start to file in and surround the court. 

Jackie and I step aside and outside of the court as the staff and volunteers from the Dallas Stars Foundation come onto the court. They rip up one of the panels so they can get video and pictures of Tyler putting a panel down. The kids start to join him to help him secure the panel back down. Tyler stomps on it and the kids jump up and down on it. It’s a good team effort and they finally get the panel back down. Tyler takes a moment to address everyone who helped make this possible as well as the Boys and Girls Club.

“Everybody! From the bottom of my heart, guys, thank you very much for putting this together. Um, the Dallas Stars Foundation, Krista. Thank you very much to all of the volunteers who were out here in the rain. It came together awesome and….yeah. Thank you.” He smiles and looks down at the ground. He didn’t have anything prepared to say so it’s really nice that he took the time to thank everyone. 

They have Tyler stand center court and everyone gathers around him for the big photo op. He cuts the ceremonial ribbon to officially open it up. Now it’s time for the kids to play some ball hockey with Tyler. They hand sticks out to Tyler and the kids and start to make the two teams up. Tyler will take turns being on either team so everybody gets a chance to play with him.

One of the things I love about Tyler is how great he is with kids. I think it partially has to do with the fact that he’s still a kid at heart, but the other side of it is he really loves putting smiles on their faces. He’s been joking around with them. I don’t think he’s stopped smiling since they started playing. Seeing him so happy just being a kid along with them warms my heart. There’s no pressure here, just good fun. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling this whole time either. 

Every once in a while Tyler will look over at me and smile and I smile right back. I’ve been trying to take pictures and video of him, but I am having way too much fun watching him have fun to focus on that. Tyler runs passed us and steals a kiss on his way by. He looks over his shoulder and smiles at me as he continues jogging. 

“Whatever it is you’re doing, keep it up. I’ve never see him like this,” Jackie says as we continue to watch him play.

“Like what?”

“Happy.”

“I don’t know about that. He’s been a pretty happy guy his whole life.”

“I mean truly happy. There’s always been something missing. I think it was you.”

“Wow, thank you. He’s an amazing guy. He makes me really happy too.”

“I can tell he cares about you like no other.”

“I care an awful lot about him.”

“I worry about him sometimes.”

“I know how he used to be and it’s not like that with me. He’s assured me this is different and I believe him.”

“I have no doubts about that. He wouldn’t have asked you to be his girlfriend if he wasn’t serious. He loves you and he doesn’t take that lightly.”

“He’s been working so hard on being a better guy. He’s treated me like a queen from the moment we met.”

“That’s good to hear. You have my permission to slap him if he strays.”

I laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Tyler has been trying to trick the kids with the old tap on the opposite shoulder gag, but most of them are not falling for it. That doesn’t stop him from giggling about it anyway. He also makes a point to teach the kids about how to play if he sees they can be using a better technique. Hockey is a big part of his life and so special to him and he really wants to give the kids of Dallas an opportunity to feel that way too about it. Hockey is forever growing in the state of Texas and Tyler is definitely doing his part to make sure that happens. 

At one point Tyler hits the ball over the boards and out of the court. 

“That’s a penalty. Push ups, babe!” I shout out to him.

He walks closer to me. “What?”

“Delay of game penalty. You gotta do push ups.”

“Says who?”

“Me.”

“How many?”

“Five.”

He places his stick on the ground and easily does five push ups. “Do you see this, mom?” He whines.

“I would have made you do ten,” she replies with a grin. 

“It’s not nice to gang up on me like that.”

“You love it,” I say. He smiles and goes back to playing. 

The more time I spend with Jackie, the more I see where Tyler gets his personality from. He’s a mini mom. I can tell he is really enjoying having her here. She is going to be here for a few more days so they can spend some quality time together and she’s going to be going to a few games. I’m looking forward to spending some more time with her too.

“Are you going to the games up in Toronto and Montreal?” Jackie asks. 

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

“If you can get off from work, you should. That way you can meet Jeff and the girls. You could even stay with us if you want. It’s always special when Tyler comes home and I’m sure he’d love it if you were there.”

“I would love to go. When I go to work tomorrow I’ll see what I can arrange with my boss.”

“If he gives you a problem let me know and I’ll go straighten him out.”

I laugh. “I’ll let you know.” I have no doubts that Jackie is totally serious when she says that. She comes off as the mama bear type that would throw down for her family if it came down to it.

“Tyler said your dad is busy today?”

“Yeah, he’s at a wedding or else he would be here. He’s really bummed that he’s missing it. Family is really important to him and he considers Tyler family.”

“It sounds like we’d get along great.”

“He’s pretty quiet and reserved. You’d have to get him out of his shell first.”

“We’d snap him out of that real quick.”

I smile. “I’d love to see that.”

“Mom! Mom! Jackie!” Tyler yells. I guess he’s been trying to get her attention. We’ve been too busy talking to notice.

“What, son?”

“Do you want to play?”

“No, I’m going to sit this one out.”

He looks at me. “Amy?”

“Yeah, I’ll play.”

He smiles wide. “Awesome.” He opens the door for me to walk out onto the court and before Tyler can ask for someone to get me a stick Tom hands one to me.

“I’ve never played before,” I say as Tyler and I join our teams. 

“We are playing with a bunch of kids. Just have fun. Most of them have never played either. That’s the whole point, to get them interested.”

By now I am pretty familiar with the ins and outs of hockey from watching so much of it, even if I don’t understand some of the rules still. I know enough to be able to get through a fun game of ball hockey with Tyler and these kids, though. The main focus is for them to have a good time and hopefully want to get more into hockey themselves so I make sure that whenever I get the ball I try to get it to one of the kids to score a goal. Tyler isn’t making it easy for me to ever make a pass, though, because every time I get the ball he’s on me and pushing me out of the way and giggling the whole time. He’s annoyingly adorable.

Eventually I do find ways to get some passes through to the kids and they score a couple of goals. I high five my team and the proud smiles on their faces make me smile even wider than I already am. This is so much fun. 

Tyler gets the ball and walks towards me with it. “Try to get it from me,” he challenges with a devilish smile. His tongue slips out of his mouth and to the side as he bats the ball back and forth with his stick.

“That’s never a hard thing to do.” He looks down and laughs and I take the ball from him and run down the court with it. I can hear him chasing after me. He runs around me and gets into the goal to try to stop my shot.

“Now score,” he says as he crouches down in a goalie stance. 

I hit the ball hard and in between his legs into the back of the net. “Also never a hard thing to do.” The kids all gather around me to give me high fives and hugs. I admit I almost forgot other people were around. I was so focused on beating him. 

Tyler hangs his head for a bit as he walks towards me pouting. He hugs me when he makes it over to me. “Good shot.” He kisses my cheek. 

We walk together to center court for the ball drop. “Thanks. Sorry I embarrassed you.”

“I’m not embarrassed, I’m proud.” He smiles. “But now it’s on.”

I lean into him with my shoulder. “Oh now it’s on. It wasn’t before?”

He leans back into me. “Love you.” He gets the ball on his stick. “But I’m going to score on your team now.” He jogs down the court and scores a quick goal. He runs the length of the court with outstretched arms like an airplane with a proud grin on his face. He comes back around to give his team high fives. 

Now that that’s out of the way we go back to making sure every kid gets equal opportunities to have the ball and try to score. It’s disappointing when they tell us that it’s time to stop playing. Tyler and I could probably play for a few more hours, that’s how much fun we are having. He asks to prolong it a little further so they have the kids take a final shootout shot on him in goal. 

Tyler takes his hat off and his hair flops down in his face. He pushes it back on his head and holds the hat out like a goalie glove. He still has that infectious smile on his face, having fun with the kids still. He doesn’t make too much of an effort to stop the ball on each turn, hoping for the kids to score but not making it look like he’s not making any kind of effort. This is probably one of my favorite days since I’ve met him, one of my favorite days ever actually.

After all of the kids take their shots Tyler asks Tom if he wants to take a shot on him and of course Tom takes the opportunity and scores on him. He makes Tyler do a few more push ups as punishment. Jackie pats Tom on the back to congratulate him on a job well done. He turns and smiles. Tom Holy is probably one of the more hard working guys I’ve ever met. He’s also one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He does a good job taking care of, and most importantly, putting up with Tyler at these events. 

“Amy, take a shot on me!” Tyler calls out from the goal. 

Tom hands me the stick and I set up in front of the ball. “You ready for this, Seguin?”

“Show me what you got, babe.” I walk towards him with the ball and try to fake him out before shooting it. The ball goes passed him but wide. “One more try.”

He smiles. “Ok, one more. If you miss again you have to do push ups.”

He kicks the ball back to me and once again I walk towards him with the ball and stop in front of him. I’m hoping I can hit it swiftly and get it through his legs. I look into his eyes and he smiles wide and gives me a challenging look to shoot the ball. Before I can take my shot he walks towards me and wraps me up in a hug. 

“This is cheating,” I say as I get my arm that’s holding the stick free.

“Nothing in the rules says I can’t kiss you.” He kisses me tenderly. A chorus of ews can be heard from the kids which makes both of us smile, but it doesn’t stop us. During the kiss I manage to hit the ball. I am hoping the cheers that soon follow are because it went in. 

Tyler looks back over his shoulder and I look around him and sure enough the ball is in the back of the net. I scored without even looking. I smile wide and point to the ground to tell him to do push ups. He doesn’t even protest. He just drops to the ground, does a few, and stands back up. Before I can tell him how much fun I had Tom pulls him away to do some interviews. I rejoin Jackie on the outside of the court and wait for him to finish. 

“You two are so cute together,” Jackie gushes.”It’s so nice to see him like this.”

“My friends think we are disgusting.”

She smiles. “There’s nothing wrong with being disgusting when you’re in love.”

 

“I do love him with everything that I am. I want you to know that.”

“I know. I can tell. And he loves you. I have waited 26 years for you to come into his life.”

I have to choke back tears. The sentiment takes my breath away. “That’s very nice of you to say.”

“All a mother wants for her children is for them to be happy and healthy and to find someone to love them at least half as much as they do and for them to love that person back in return. I was starting to think that wasn’t going to happen for him, not because he didn’t deserve it but because he wasn’t going to let it. I guess he was just waiting for the perfect person and that perfect person is you and thank god that it is because...well...I’m not going to get into that. You’re a refreshing breath of air is all I can say.”

“Thank you so much. I’m so glad you feel that way. He’s special and I’m lucky to have him love me.” I couldn’t possibly hold back the tears in my eyes. I was so worried that she wasn’t going to like me or had her doubts but she seems to be as sure of us as we are. I had nothing to worry about. She hugs me before I can even make a move to hug her first. 

“My mom and my girlfriend are over there hugging without me.” We can hear Tyler complain during his interview and we both laugh. 

After he finishes up with his interview he walks over to us and wraps his arms around both of our backs. He kisses my forehead then Jackie’s. Before we can start to leave one of the reporters walks over to us and asks me and Jackie if we would answer some questions for an article. I am about to decline when Jackie agrees to it. I let her take the reins and do most of the talking. I only answer when a question is directed specifically at me. It feels like an eternity but it probably lasted only five to ten minutes. 

Once Tyler wraps everything up with Tom we take my car back to the garage at the practice facility to pick up Tyler’s car. Jackie rides with him and we meet up at Tyler’s house. Jackie offered to make us a late lunch and Tyler jumped at the chance to have a nice home cooked meal from his mom. I get a text from my dad asking how everything went and I tell him it went great. I laugh when he replies with a big fat I TOLD YOU. I can’t wait to tell Tyler how it went.

I’m out in the yard with Marshall, Cash, Gerry, and Grace when Tyler comes out to join me. He hugs me tight and rubs the back of my head a few times before kissing me. 

“I heard things went well with mom,” he says. 

“Yeah it did. She told you?”

“She did. She loves you. I told you that you had nothing to worry about. I’ve told her how amazing you are and how happy you make me and how much I love you.”

“We had a really good talk. Did she tell you about it?”

“I believe the words marry her, Tyler came out of her mouth.”

I smile and blush. “Oh.”

“Don’t panic. I told her not now, but someday.” He smiles back at me as his cheeks turn pink from blushing as well. We look into each other’s eyes for what feels like forever and just as he starts to open his mouth to say something else Jackie calls for us from the house. The food is ready. He hugs me and kisses my forehead. “C’mon, let’s go inside. I’m starving.”

Today could not have gone better. The ball hockey court was a total success and everyone involved had a great time. Meeting Jackie for the first time was a million times better than I thought it would be and she’s going to be here for the whole week, which gives us more opportunity to get to know each other better. Dad and Tyler were right, I had nothing to worry about. I love Tyler and it’s not because he’s a rich and famous athlete. Love is all that matters.

Today was a prime example of some of the reasons why I love him. He’s a family man. He and Jackie have a great relationship and I look forward to watching them interact more. They don’t see a lot of each other but when they do it’s like they haven’t missed a beat. He’s a kid at heart and loves to have fun, but more importantly, he loves to make sure everyone around him is having fun. His infectious laugh and smile could brighten even the darkest days. He has the biggest heart and when he uses it he can get spectacular things accomplished. Doing what he can for the community is so important to him. He wants to make an impact on people’s lives and not just by being Tyler Seguin the professional hockey player, but Tyler Seguin the human being. 

At the end of the day he loves me with everything that he is and I love him the same. I can’t begin to describe how lucky I am just to know him, let alone be loved by him. He makes me laugh, he takes care of me, he makes me feel whole. He takes my hand in his and presses his lips to the back of my hand as we get inside the house. We smile at each other as we take our seats at the table. People think that it’s the big house, fancy cars, expensive lifestyle, but all I ever see is him. He’s all I need. Then it finally hits me, did he just say he’s going to marry me someday?


	27. Quality Family Time

As soon as we dropped Jackie off at the airport I had immediately begun to work on our trip to Toronto. Tyler insisted that he pay for it and so did my dad, who is also tagging along. They almost got into an argument about who would be taking care of everything. They eventually compromised. My dad paid for the plane tickets and Tyler will be taking care of everything else. We’re going to be seeing him play in two cities, Toronto and Montreal. I have been looking forward to this since Jackie suggested it. I know how important home is to Tyler and even though we won’t be able to spend a lot of time there, it will be good spending any time at all in Toronto. I’m also looking forward to meeting his sisters. My dad meeting everyone for the first time should be interesting. I really am just excited for everything. 

The original plan was just for me to make the trip up, but as soon as I mentioned it to my dad his face lit up at the opportunity and we got the ball rolling planning our first father daughter trip in a very long time. The last time we went on a trip together we flew to Green Bay to watch the Cowboys play the Packers. We had to check out Lambeau Field. It was one of my favorite things we’ve ever done together. The Cowboys won so that made it even better. We had such a good time even though we froze our asses off, but that’s what you do at Lambeau. 

I really wish that Grace could have come with us. I hate leaving her behind. I always feel guilty. Rose is going to be taking care of her so at least I know that she’s going to be in good hands. I always make sure I bring her back something so she knows I didn’t forget about her while I was away. I always love giving her a new treat or a new toy. She always trots around the house with it, proudly showing it off, before settling down to eat or play with it. 

“I’ve never flown first class before,” my dad says as he settles into his seat next to me. He really went all out and spoiled us for this trip. If Tyler knew he was planning on going first class he would have made a harder argument to pay. 

“We are going to be spoiled and won’t want to fly any other way from now on.”

“I’m ok with that. It’s already worth it and we haven’t even gone anywhere yet.”

I send Tyler one last text before turning my phone off for the flight.

_On the plane. So excited. So is dad._

_Awesome. Can’t wait to see you. Chuck too._

“Dad, we should take a selfie.”

“I imagine I’m going to be hearing those words a lot this trip.”

“Yup! Better get used to it.”

“I’m not complaining. My daughter still wants to spend time with me and document it.”

We take a quick selfie and I send it off to Tyler. We are ready for Canada.

_Nice hat, Chuck!_

My dad is wearing one of Tyler’s hats with his TS logo on it. 

_Of course that’s what you notice._

_You’re cute. Kisses. Text me when you land._

_I will. Turning my phone off now. See you when we get there._

I turn my phone off before waiting for a response and sit back in my seat to relax. “You put your phone down? It’s a miracle,” my dad teases.

“I am capable. I don’t need to be on it on the plane. Besides, you’re going to entertain me, right?”

“I can try. I was going to read.”

“I don’t know how you can read on the plane. It makes me nauseous.”

“It helps me relax. Why don’t you listen to music? That’s what you usually do.”

“I’m just really excited, I guess. I don’t think anything is going to calm me down.”

“I’m excited too.”

“You are?”

“I am. I’m very much looking forward to meeting Tyler’s family and seeing him play more. Of course the thing I’m most looking forward to is spending more time with you.”

I smile. “It should be a good time.”

“This thing between you and Tyler is becoming pretty serious.”

“I’m in love with him so yeah.”

“I mean that when you first came to me about him you were just enjoying each other’s companies and not putting labels on things and now look at you, we are flying to Toronto to meet his family. It’s great to see you happy. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Now we have to find you someone.”

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Don’t you want to be loved, though, dad?”

“When the right person comes along, yeah, but it’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

“You’re not getting any younger.”

“Neither are you, smart ass.”

I laugh and he slightly smiles. “Read your book. I’ll listen to music.”

I take my iPad out of my bag and play a little bit of Candy Crush while I listen to my music. I need something to do to make the time go faster. It’ll feel like forever if I don’t do something to keep my mind occupied. My dad nudges me with his elbow and I take my earbuds out of my ear.

“Aren’t games supposed to be fun?” he asks as he points to the screen.

“I am having fun. I love Candy Crush.”

He studies my face, which I assume is a frustrated expression. “You don’t look like you’re having fun.”

“I’ve been trying to beat this level all week. It’s annoying.”

He chuckles. “You should read. That’ll take your mind to a whole other place.”

“I’m going to beat this level by the time we land.” My dad goes back to his book and I go back to my music and Candy Crush. 

The plan is for Jackie to pick us up at the airport when we land and Jeff, Tyler’s step-dad, will be picking him up at the hotel and we will all meet back at Jackie’s house where Tyler’s sisters will be waiting for us. I am so excited for our two families to be together in the same place. Tyler told me that Jackie is going to be cooking a nice meal for all of us and he’s looking forward to a nice home cooked meal while on the road. 

As promised I text Tyler as soon as we land and he lets me know that Jeff hasn’t picked him up yet. He’s still at the hotel waiting for him. 

Just as I finish texting with Tyler a car pulls up and stops in front of us. Jackie gets out with a smile on her face. She immediately walks over to me and hugs me. I hug her back. 

“Welcome to Toronto!” she says enthusiastically, “how was the flight?”

“It was good. No issues.”

She looks at my dad and stretches her hand out to shake his. “Hi, I’m Jackie, Tyler’s mom. You must be Chuck. Is Chuck ok?”

He smiles. “Chuck is fine. It’s what most people call me.”

“You are way taller than I thought you’d be.” Jackie is shorter than I am so it’s no surprise she’d mention his height. He does look more massive in person than in pictures.

He looks down at the ground, a little embarrassed. “Oh.”

“It’s so great to finally meet you, Chuck. We just love Amy to pieces.”

“Tyler is great too. I’m very thankful they have one another.”

“I do have to say that what they have together is pretty special,” she agrees. The way they’re talking about us makes me blush a bit.

“I wanted to thank you for inviting us up here and for letting us stay in your home.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Come on, let’s get going. We can talk more in the car.”

Jackie pops the trunk and we throw our bags in. I quickly get in the back seat before my dad can so he’s forced to sit in the front seat. I want him to talk more with Jackie and get comfortable being around her. It’s important for both Tyler and me for them to get along, not that we have doubts, but if he sat in the back I doubt he’d join the conversation.

Once we get on our way they do start talking. I sit back and enjoy the conversation. Jackie has a lot of questions and my dad doesn’t have problems answering them. At one point I take a picture of them and send it to Tyler. 

_Jackie and Chuck are getting along_

_Oh good, Jeff just got here._

_See you in a little while._

_Can’t wait. Don’t listen to anything my sisters tell you while I’m not there._

_I’m going to ask for all of the embarrassing stories. It’s only fair._

_Nooo. Don’t._

_Pulling into the driveway now. I’ll let you know what they tell me._

I put my phone into my pocket and get out of my car. Jackie and my dad are still talking about how hockey in Canada is the same as football in Texas. He mentions to her that he could have gone pro, something I didn’t know. I’m surprised I didn’t know that before. I thought I knew everything about him. He doesn’t elaborate, he just says he will talk to her about it more later, but I want to know more. There’s no time to ask, though, once we grab our bags Jackie ushers us into the house. 

Tyler’s sisters, Candace and Cassidy, are sitting in the living room watching TV when we walk in. They immediately stand up to greet us. Charley, Jackie and Jeff’s yellow lab, walks right over to Jackie for pets before turning his attention to us. He sniffs us cautiously before wagging his tail and leaning against my legs for pets. 

My dad chuckles. “A lab at your feet. You’ll feel right at home here.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jackie introduces us to Candace and Cassidy and we say our hellos before she shows us to the rooms we will be staying in. I place my suitcase on the floor next to the bed and walk back into the living room to join everyone. I sit on the couch with Candace and Cassidy on either side of me. 

“I would ask you how you got Tyler to settle down but I’d hate to make fun of him before he gets here,” Candace says with a devilish smile, a smile I am all too familiar with. It must run in the family.

“And I was going to ask you to tell me embarrassing stories about him,” I confess.

“We will tell you everything,” Cassidy chimes in.

“Stop conspiring against your brother, girls,” Jackie scolds, “I have to get the baby pictures out first.” They all laugh. I can tell I am going get along with everyone just fine.

It takes my dad a little bit to get comfortable with everyone. He seemed to get along with Jackie right away in the car, but when everyone started to focus on him here I could see him tense up a bit. He’d rather just sit back and observe than be the center of attention. I think he felt better when I started to jump in and steer the conversation a bit more. Once I see him relax his shoulders and sit back in the chair I know that he will be ok from here on out. He even cracks a smile.

As soon as Tyler walks through the door he is greeted with hugs and kisses from his sisters and mom. I let them all get their time with him until it’s my turn. I’ve seen him much sooner than they have. Tyler has a huge smile on his face as he soaks in the love from his family. He gives my dad a handshake and a hug before he spots me and we lock eyes.

“There’s my girl.” His smile grows wider and wider as he walks towards me. He wraps me up in a hug and I melt into him. It feels so amazing to be in his arms again.

“Hey, Ty, I missed you.” My words are muffled since I’m nuzzled into his neck. He kisses my temple, then my forehead, then my cheek, and then finally my lips. 

“Gross, Tyler, do you have to do that in front of people?” Candace teases. He glares at her over my shoulder before kissing me all over my face making exaggerated kissing noises. She scoffs. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Everyone got on me when I didn’t have a girlfriend and now that I have one you’re still on my case. I can’t win.” He looks over at Jackie. “Mom, tell them to be nice.”

“Leave me out of this,” Jackie says with a smile. 

Cassidy folds her arms over her chest disapprovingly. “Them? I didn’t say anything.”

“I’m happy, you should be happy for me,” Tyler whines. He wraps his arm around my back and pulls me close to him before kissing my temple. “All thanks to this girl.”

“Ok, you are kind of disgusting,” Cassidy quips. 

“This is what I have to deal with all of the time,” my dad chimes in from the other side of the room.

Tyler looks over his shoulder at him. “Not you too, Chuck.”

I pat Tyler on the chest. “Don’t worry, they’re just jealous of our love.” He smiles as he leans in and rubs noses with me before kissing me. A collective groan breaks out and Tyler laughs softly against my lips.

“I dunno, I’ve got it pretty good myself,” Jackie says before kissing Jeff.

“Ew, Mom, way to ruin it,” Tyler complains.

I pat Tyler on the knee. “I’m not going to apologize for loving this guy, and I’m not going to hold back. Y’all are going to have to deal with it.”

“I am very much ok with it. I’m happy that he’s found someone that he wants to be publicly disgusting with,” Jackie replies while giving him a squeeze on his arm. He rolls his eyes and smiles. “You love it and you know it, pumpkin.”

“Mom! Don’t pumpkin me. Not in front of Chuck.”

“I’m sure Chuck has heard and said it all, sweetie.” Jackie has the biggest smile on her face. She loves picking on him. I love their dynamic. There is so much love there and most of it is said through teasing.

“Amy is chipmunk.”

“Dad, no.”

Tyler looks at me wide eyed and amused. “Chipmunk!”

“She had the cutest chubby cheeks. Looked like a little chipmunk getting ready for the winter.”

I shake my head. “Why must you do this?”

“More importantly, why haven’t I heard this before?”

“I’ve shown you my baby pictures before,” I mumble, wanting to just crawl under a rock. 

“I know, but I didn’t know there was a nickname attached to those cute cheeks.” He kisses my cheek a few times. I can’t help smiling.

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?” Candace asks. “Sorry, Amy, this is just a little bit of a shock. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“He did fight it at first.”

He looks down at the floor and mutters, “not that hard.” His cheeks and ears turn bright pink.

“I think it’s cute,” Cassidy gushes. 

“Speaking of cute, I need to know more about chipmunk over here.”

My dad smiles. He is enjoying this way too much. He would take any chance he can to embarrass me. “If it wasn’t chipmunk it was usually cheeks, sometimes chip. Cheeks was always her favorite, though, mine too.”

“Cheeks it is,” Tyler says as he scrunches his nose at me. 

“Cheeks it isn’t!” I exclaim. I glare at my dad.

He defensively puts his hands up in the air. “What?”

“There will be a day that I get to embarrass you too, just you wait.” I actually don’t know if that day will ever come, but if the opportunity arises I will take it. 

“We will see about that,” dad retorts. 

Jackie chuckles. “You two will fit in with our family perfectly.” She turns to my dad. “Chuck, do you cook?” He nods his head yes. “Would you like to help me? We can talk more, away from the kids.”

“Yes, of course, I can help you.”

Jackie and my dad disappear into the kitchen and Jeff follows behind them. 

“Did she just say away from the kids?” Tyler looks towards the kitchen door and yells, “what’s wrong with the kids?!”

“They’re pains in my ass!” Jackie yells from the kitchen. 

“Do you see how she treats us?” he pouts.

“My poor baby.” I sit down on the couch and he sits down next to me and wraps his arm around my back. 

He kisses my temple before picking up the remote to the TV and turning it on. Candace and Cassidy settle in on another couch. I catch Tyler up on what I’ve been doing since he’s been away. I had a dart competition that I won, work has been getting more and more demanding, I’ve been stressed and seeing him again makes all of the difference in the world.

Once again Tyler and I find ourselves in our own little world. I am instantly relaxed by his touch. I get lost in his beautiful brown eyes. I find comfort in his voice. He is my happiness. He is my safety. He is my whole life. 

We smile at each other for I don’t even know how long before Candace speaks up. “Stop hogging her, Tyler, we haven’t gotten a chance to talk to her at all. You see her all of the time.”

He pulls me even closer to him, which I didn’t think was possible. “You’ll get to hang out with her tomorrow. Mine now.”

“Did Tyler tell you about when he was younger and trying to get bigger for hockey that he thought that lying down all of the time would make him grow? He would always lay around the house then ask our mom to measure him and she’d always mark it a little higher to make him think it was working,” Candace says.

“What? It was working.”

Cassidy laughs. “You can’t honestly believe that. You’re an adult now.”

“That’s questionable,” Candace teases.

He sits up straight. “Have you seen me?”

“Unfortunately.”

He darts up from the couch and pins the both of them down. They squeal and laugh and try to fight back, not very successfully though. I think he’s tickling them, or trying to, but I can’t see them clearly. There are a lot of laughs coming from that side of the room. He sits on them, facing me, giggling his ass off. They try to knock him off of them and he doesn’t budge. Screams for help and mom come from underneath him. So this is what having siblings is like. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing yet, but I am very amused. 

Jackie swiftly enters the room and they all stop in their tracks. “What on Earth is going on in here?”

“Nothing, mom,” all three guilty Seguins say in unison.

“Tyler, get off your sisters. Everyone, get ready for dinner. Girls, set the table.”

“Yes, mom.” Again, all in unison.

Candace and Cassidy leave to set the table and Tyler rejoins me on the couch. He holds my face in his hands and tenderly kisses me.

I run my fingers through his hair. “How come you get out of setting the table, or helping at al?”

“First born gets to sit out of that stuff.”

“Well aren’t you special?”

He smiles. “My mom always tells me I am.”

“Mama’s boy.” 

“That’s me.”

I smile. “This whole day has gone so much better than I thought it would.”

“Everyone loves you, as they should. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“Same goes for you, Ty. I love you so much.”

I lean in for a kiss and he hugs me close as our lips touch. I miss this when he’s away, all of this. Kissing him, hugging him, cuddling with him, talking to him face to face, sex. Everything about being with him when we are together I miss terribly when we are apart. Kissing him is one of my favorite things, though, it brings me to the highest level of euphoria.

“How many times have I told you no dessert before dinner, Tyler?” Both of us jump away from each other, embarrassed and startled. Jackie stands before us with a proud smile on her face. I swear I see all of her in Tyler. Tyler looks down at the floor, embarrassed. I whisper some kind of an apology that barely leaves my lips and Jackie chuckles. “Dinner is ready, you two, if you’re still hungry.”

“Mom, don’t,” Tyler pleads as he shakes his head. “You can embarrass me, but not Amy.”

“It’s ok, Ty, it’s all in good fun,” I say as I rub his back reassuringly.

“As long as you’re ok with it, cheeks.”

“It’s all good, pumpkin.”

I stand up and he gives me a little tap on the butt as he stands beside me. We join everyone else in the dining room and sit down for dinner. I know how much Tyler appreciates a home cooked meal, especially from his mom, so tonight is extra special. Not only do I get to meet the rest of his family, but he gets nice meal with the family too. The smile on his face says it all, he is the most happy when he’s with his family.

After dinner I help Candace and Cassidy clean up then we all gather in the living room to watch a movie before Tyler has to leave and go back to his hotel. This is as close to cuddling as I’m going to get on this trip and I’m perfectly ok with that. I rest my head on Tyler’s shoulder. It’s been a long day and he always makes me feel so comfortable. He intertwines his fingers with mine and rests his head on my head. I wish we had more time together, but I’m thankful for this time I do have. Usually I would be at home without him and waiting for him to come home so this is a blessing.

After the movie I go with Jackie to take Tyler back to the hotel. Tyler says it’s about a 40 minute drive so I’m going to cherish these next 40 minutes with him. Tomorrow I will get to see him play, but I will only have minutes with him before he has to leave. We will also be seeing him play in Montreal but that’ll be the same deal, we will only have minutes with him. He holds my hand and gives me loving kisses to my temple in the back of Jackie’s car as we talk with her. 

My heart aches as Jackie pulls up to the front of the hotel. This is it. Jackie gets out of the car to hug Tyler goodbye and gets back in to give us some privacy. I hug him and breathe a deep breath. I don’t want to leave him. He holds me close and nuzzles into my hair. “I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good chat with my mom on the way back.”

“I wish we had more time together.” A tear rolls down my cheek and I wipe it before he can see it.

“I know, but we always make the most of whatever time we have. I’ll see you after the game tomorrow. I can’t wait to play in front of you in my home city. It means more to me than you know.”

“I can’t wait to watch you.” I look down at the ground. “I hate saying goodbye to you.”

“I hate it too, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” He hugs me tightly one last time. “I love you. Have a goodnight.” He kisses me passionately, it has to last me a while. I smile when we pull apart. “Now get in the car before I change my mind and don’t let you go.”

“I wouldn’t have a problem with that.”

He smiles. “I can’t.” He walks with me to the passenger’s side door, opens it for me, and I get in. He leans his hands on the roof and looks in at both me and Jackie. “My two favorite girls. Have a safe drive home. I love you both.”

“I love you too, Ty.” He takes my hand and kisses it before closing the door. He waves to us both while he smiling and walks into the hotel. I hang my head. Just like that I feel like a piece of me is missing. I always feel so empty when he’s not around.

“What you two have together is special. It doesn’t get easier, but it does get more and more worth it.”

“Maybe it’s gotten easier since the beginning. Or maybe I’m just more used to it by now. He is worth it, though, you’re right about that. He’s worth everything in the world.”

She smiles at me. “You have no idea how thankful I am that you’re in his life. You’ve saved him. Thank you.”

“Thank you for raising such an amazing son. He has taught me that pure happiness does exist in the world.”

“You guys compliment each other so well. I hope this summer we will have even more time to spend together.” 

“I’d love that. I know Tyler didn’t want to talk about the summer until after the playoffs since I only have a certain amount of vacation time, but I definitely want to come back here.”

The rest of the drive back we keep each other occupied by having some nice conversation. It’s the first time that just the two of us can have some uninterrupted one on one time. We try to get as much in as we can before we get back to the house. She gushes to me about Jeff and I tell her about my dad and a little about my mom. I think Tyler tried to tell her at some point but she wasn’t clear of some of the details. I ask about Candace and Cassidy even though I know I’ll get to spend some good time with them tomorrow. All in all it was a great day in Canada. I got to see Tyler again, but more importantly I got to meet his family. I already love them so much and I really do feel like I am a part of it already.


	28. Sisters

Today is a day that I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. Jackie and Jeff are going to be showing us around Brampton, where Tyler grew up, and Toronto as well. Tyler has told me stories about growing up but it’ll be good to get another side of those stories as well as a visual to go along with them. Jackie seems just as excited to show us around. She’s such a proud, loving mother. Tyler and his sisters are so lucky to have her. 

I told my dad that he didn’t have to come with us, that he could stay back at the house, but he was having none of it. He loves Tyler like a son and would love nothing more than to see where he came from. It means everything to me that he cares so much about Tyler. As Jackie takes us around to various hockey rinks, schools, and parks learning about Tyler’s past I can’t help wondering about what my dad said to her about going pro yesterday. Why is it that this is the first I’m hearing of it? I don’t dwell too much on it but it is in the back of my mind to bring up at another time. 

I love the enthusiasm in Jackie’s voice when she talks about Tyler. He’s come a long way from that little boy that she’s been describing. She talks about how hard it was for her to be away from him when he moved to Michigan for juniors, but how incredibly proud she was of him for living his dream and living it so well. She was scared but hopeful for him when he got drafted to the Bruins, worried when he seemed to have lost his way. No one was there to guide him in the right direction and it’s not like she could have gone there and mommied him, that’s not what he needed either. She was, and still is, thankful for how much Texas has embraced Tyler and got him on the right path again. 

Her role in his life has been the ultimate cheerleader, which he has absolutely needed. She supports him through and through in everything does. Her influence on him doesn’t go unnoticed by me. No matter how far he might have gone astray at the end of the day he’s just a boy that wants to do right by his mom. He’s definitely succeeded and he continues to grow every day.

After we take the This Is Your Life, Tyler Seguin tour of Brampton we go back to Jackie’s house to relax before we head in to Toronto to spend some time there before the game. Candace has work and will meet us at the game and Cassidy is in class at the moment. Cassidy will be going to a Toronto with us and I’m looking forward to spending more time with her. Tyler is always teasing his sisters but he loves them to death. It’s important to me to get to know them a little better before this trip is over and they’re not coming to Montreal with us.

As we walk down the streets of downtown Toronto Cassidy and I fall back behind the group of parents in front of us. She wants to point out the bars and clubs I need to keep in mind for the next time I visit. 

“Tyler doesn’t know the good places to go. Don’t let him be in charge of the clubs when you come back with him. Trust me on this.”

“If it’s anything like the clubs he brings me to in Dallas, I already know.”

“Exactly. I wish Candace was with us now. She goes to a few places I don’t but I know they’re better than his choices.”

“You’ll have to send me a list. I’ll never remember.”

She hands me her phone. “Put your number in. I’ll text you.” I put my number in her phone and hand it back to her along with my phone so she can add her number into mine. “How did you wind up with him anyway? You’re so smart and put together and he’s...Tyler.”

“There’s just something about a guy with full sleeves, who looks like a bad ass blushing his face off because his dog is dominating another dog that’s irresistible to me.”

She laughs. “He is a pretty big dork.”

“He’s got a big heart, he just didn’t want to use it before he met me for whatever reason.”

“I know. We joke about him all of the time but he really is a great guy and I’m glad he found you. It’s great to see him happy and in love. It’s definitely a side to him I’ve never seen before. Sometimes I wish I still haven’t seen it. Sorry, but you guys are kind of disgusting.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot. We can’t help it.”

“It’s cute. I really thought he was never going to let himself fall in love.”

“He didn’t want to. It just kinda happened.”

“I can’t wait until the summer. We can all really spend some real time together and you can see him more relaxed. I bet it’s hectic to try to spend time with him. You work full time, right?”

“Yeah, I work a lot of hours. We make the most of the time we have together. I can’t wait for the summer either, although, I only have a certain amount of vacation time to use so we are still going to be away from each other for a bit.”

“Oh yeah, right, sorry.”

“It’s ok. We will make it work.”

Cassidy and I continue to talk as we fall further and further behind. I love that I get to have some one on one time with her. Tyler always talks so fondly of his sisters so it’s good to have my own impression of them. She’s easy to talk to, which is great considering how much younger than I am she is. That’s a fifteen year age difference. It certainly doesn’t feel that way.

Jackie, Jeff, and my dad must have finally realized that we aren’t walking along with them because they stop and turn around to see where we are. I’d say we are a good twenty feet away from them at this point, which was totally unintentional, we got lost in our conversation. “Are you kids still with us?” Jackie yells to us. We scurry to catch up with them. Jackie wraps her arm around Cassidy’s back. “It’s nice to see you two getting along.”

“I definitely approve,” Cassidy says with a smile, “I’d say he’s lucky she has the patience of a saint to deal with him.”

“Give your brother some credit, he’s finally growing up.”

“Mom, he’s twenty-six, you say that about an eighteen year old maybe not a twenty-six year old.”

“You’d be very proud of the way Tyler treats Amy. I’m fortunate enough to see it first hand all of the time. He’s a good kid,” my dad says. He’s really taken to Tyler and loves him like a son. It’s no surprise to me that he’d stick up for him, not that Tyler needs it, it’s just harmless teasing.

“We knew he had it in him, we just weren’t sure he would ever use it. We’re all thankful he has Amy in his life,” Jackie replies. 

“I’m lucky to have him too. He’s made my life infinitely better.” I had to gush about him. He really doesn’t get enough credit for how wonderful he is. He isn’t expecting any credit, though, he just does what feels right in his heart. He always says that making me happy is what makes him the most happy.

We walk around Toronto a little bit longer before we stop to eat some dinner. It’s another nice family meal together. A bunch of laughter and storytelling and a little bit of wine. I can see why his family is so important to him and I can now understand better just how hard it is to be away from them for so long. They are very fun to be around and love oozes out of them. We have a few more days with them but I know that I will be sad to leave them when it’s time to go back home.

After we eat it’s time to start making our way over to the arena. I usually sit down by the glass for warm ups but everyone else is going directly to our seats so I go with them instead. I don’t want to break from our group. Even though we are in our seats I still make sure to watch Tyler warm up. I’m so used to his routine by now that I know where to look at any moment and that he will be there. I never in my wildest dreams thought that hockey would ever be a part of my life, let alone such a big part of it, but I’m grateful that it is and that it’s because of Tyler. He is so good at what he does and he works so hard to learn and grow as a player every day. It’s always such an honor to watch him play. 

After warm ups my dad and Jeff head off to get us all drinks. While they’re gone, Candace joins us. She quickly hugs everyone before sitting down in her seat. “Sorry it took me so long to get here, it’s crazy out there. What did I miss?”

“You better text Jeff with your drink order or you’re gonna have to stand in that line,” Cassidy says. While Candace texts Jeff, Cassidy takes her phone out. “We need to selfie.” The three of us pose and she takes it. “Mom! Get in here and take one with us.” Jackie sticks her head in between me and Candace and we all smile big for the picture.

“You have to text those to me, Cassidy,” I say as the four of us review the pictures.

“Yeah, for sure. I’ll send them right now.”

“What?!” Candace exclaims, “you gotta give me your number too.”

Candace and I exchange numbers while Cassidy sends me the selfies. I remind myself that I’m going to have to take one with my dad when he gets back from the beer run. I get a notification that I’ve been tagged in Cassidy’s Instagram story and open it up to see that she posted the selfie of me, her, and Candace with the word “Sisters” in big glittery letters and a heart. My reaction takes me by surprise as I almost begin tearing up. It means so much to me that she feels that way about me even though we just met. 

When my dad and Jeff come back with the drinks we all squeeze in for a group picture and Jeff tweets it out. Family night in Toronto. Family. It sure does feel like we are one big family. Tyler would love that we are getting along so well. I can’t wait until he sees. He’s going to be so happy. Before the lights go low for the National Anthems my dad and I take a quick selfie. He isn’t used to taking them yet, and barely knows where to look, but this one is probably the best we’ve taken. Both of us looking into the camera with the biggest smiles on our faces.

During the first intermission Candace and Cassidy take me over to where Paul, Tyler’s dad, is sitting. It’s important that I meet him as well. Paul isn’t as outspoken as Jackie is. He’s more reserved. Tyler swears that he gets his wild side from his dad but I just don’t see it. I’m glad that I get to sit down and talk to him. I know Paul has been a big part of who Tyler is today as a hockey player. He kept Tyler focused and as prepared as he could to turn hockey into his career instead of just his hobby.

He asks me the usual questions that a parent would ask their son’s girlfriend. I think he also asks me some things he already knows just to see how I would answer them. I am not as at ease talking to Paul that I am with the rest of the family but it’s not a bad experience either. I know that they have to want to protect him from people using him just for his money, and I’m not, so I have nothing to worry about. I can see the moment he realizes that I’m genuine because he backs off a little bit and becomes less serious. I have officially passed the Paul Seguin test.  
On the way back to our seats Candace says, “that went well.” Which catches me off guard. It didn’t feel like it went well, maybe ok, but not well.

“It did?” I ask.

“That’s just dad. He’ll be different once he gets to know you a little bit better. Trust me, it went well.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I couldn’t really tell. I almost felt like I was on trial.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what that was about. I don’t even think he asks guys I date that many questions.”

“I guess he feels like he needs to protect Tyler. I don’t blame him. I didn’t even know who Tyler was when I first met him, though, and I love him to death.”

They both smile. “We know you do,” Cassidy replies. I know she’s referring to how disgusting we are together and I just laugh. 

“In the end it really doesn’t matter how we feel, it just matters how Tyler feels and he’s crazy about you.”

“It helps to have the family on board, though.”

Candace nods in agreement. “True, but, you’re pretty awesome and you have nothing to worry about.”

I smile. “Thanks, girls.”

The game is an exciting one. It’s low scoring, but not due to the lack of effort by both teams. Some people might call it boring because of the absence of goals but I definitely can appreciate a good defensive battle. Tyler and his teammates work their asses off and by the end of regulation they are huffing and puffing. The score is only 1-1 and they are going into overtime.

I think all of us are on the edge of our seats, especially when we see that the coach is putting Tyler out there to start things off. I nervously clench my fist tight. How great would it be if he got the game winning goal in his hometown in front of his family? I know he loves helping his team in any way he can, but I think that even he would admit that getting that goal here would mean just a little bit more.

Once overtime starts everyone stands up in excitement so we have to do the same, not that we weren’t practically on our feet anyway. Tyler’s first shift lasts a little long but nothing much going on. I watch as he skates over to the bench and jumps over the boards. He’s breathing hard as he takes his sips of water and Gatorade. The coach says something to him, he nods, and stands back up to wait for his next shift. He watches the game with extreme focus and when it’s his turn to go back out on the ice he shoots off the boards like a cannon. He’s on a mission. He’s going to end this game. 

The Stars skate into the Leafs zone and I think I’ve stopped breathing. My heart is beating out of my chest. “Come on, Tyler, come on,” I mutter to myself as I watch them pass the puck around, trying to get a shooting lane. I watch as Tyler gets himself into an open position and rapidly slaps his stick down on the ice a few times to call for the puck. The pass goes through the Leafs player’s skates and makes it to Tyler’s stick. He directs the puck towards the net and it goes passed the goalie’s shoulder and in. The arena goes silent except for our row. We are screaming our heads off for Tyler. I’m jumping up and down, ecstatic. He points in our direction before being surrounded by his teammates in the ultimate celebration dogpile.

We high five and hug each other while the Stars celebrate with each other on the ice. That could have not gone better. Not only did Tyler get the game winning goal, but he played well all game. After we finish recovering from Tyler’s goal we go over to the section where we will get to meet up with him for a little bit. A few of Tyler’s friends are here so we stand with them and talk until the players start to trickle out. I know I just saw him yesterday but it feels like so much longer.

Finally Tyler walks over to us with a big smile on his face. He gives us all hugs and when he’s done giving everyone hugs he comes back to me to give me another hug. I hug him back and melt into his arms. He kisses my forehead smiles. “That was awesome, Ty,” I say as I hug him once more. I’m not going to want to let him go. 

“I was starting to think I wasn’t going to get that goal.”

“You were so focused out there. You were going to make it happen no matter what.”

 

“Oh yeah? You were watching that close?”

“Always.”

“What happened during warm ups? I thought you’d be there in my hometown. It made me so sad to look in your usual spot and not see you.” I can tell in his tone and by the smirk on his face that he’s just teasing me, but part of me does feel bad. I did want to be there but I figured spending time with his family was more important. 

“Sorry, I chose your family over you.”

He smiles wide. “I knew they’d try to steal you from me.” He looks at them. “She’s mine, everyone, don’t even think about it.” He wraps his arms around me tight. He rests his cheek on the top of my head. “I’m glad you’re getting along with them so well.

“I love them.”

“It’s so great having you on the road. It gives me something to look forward to. What are your plans for tomorrow?”

“I don’t know but I’m sure your mom has something planned.”

“I have no doubt about that. It’s weird to think that you’ll be with her and I won’t be.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s good for both of you.” He looks over me at the rest of the family. “I think they’re getting a little impatient over there. We should join them. Get ready to take pictures. I’m sure mom will want some.”

“If she doesn’t I do so you get ready.”

He places his hand on the small of my back and we rejoin the group. We talk and laugh a bit longer before Jackie has us all get together for some pictures. This will be our first full family picture. Paul is here too and Jackie made sure to include him. We all hand our phones to Tyler’s friends, who are spectating, so they can take the pictures. I’m standing in between my two favorite guys in the world, Tyler and my dad. My heart is so full. Our trip to Canada keeps getting better and better.

Jackie talks with a few of the other Toronto area moms as Tyler catches up with his friends for the last few minutes. His hand has never left my back. I need to savor his touch for as long as I can since after Montreal they will still be away for a bit longer before I see him again. I am definitely a bigger fan of his friends from Toronto than his friends in Dallas. I could actually talk to them and I don’t feel like they are judging me or hating my being with Tyler. I feel like a part of the crew. 

When it’s time for the players to leave Tyler makes sure to give hugs to everyone and says his goodbyes. He saves me for last. He envelopes me up in a nice, warm hug and nuzzles into my neck. “I’ll see you in Montreal.”

“During warm ups.”

He pulls back and smiles at me. “Yeah? You don’t have to.”

“I want to. Plus, I told my dad we would. He wants to watch warm ups too.”

“I’ll be looking for you. Don’t break my heart again.” His dimples cut into his cheeks with his smirk.

“I would never.” Tyler looks at his watch. I know he doesn’t have much time left. “I’ll let you go. I know you have to go.”

“I love you. Thank you so much for being here.”

“I love you too, Ty. I’ll see you in a few days.”

“During warm ups.”

“Yup. During warm ups.”

“I can’t wait.” He kisses me, far too quickly. I need it to last another 40 minutes or so. I already miss his touch. “Bye.”

I watch as he walks away and joins the other guys on their way back to the bus. It breaks my heart to watch him walk away. I don’t want him to go. Or maybe I want to go with him. Either way I want more time with him. I always want more time with him, though, that’s nothing new. 

After we get back Jackie and Jeff retreat to their room to turn in for the night. I find myself pacing around the living room, not quite ready to go to sleep. I’m a little antsy tonight. I can’t relax. I still can’t stop thinking about what my dad said to Jackie about going pro. Why didn’t he tell me? Why does it matter to me so much? It’s driving me crazy. I want to ask him about it but there’s obviously a reason he didn’t tell me about it. I should just drop it.

“Something on your mind?” I turn around to see my dad standing behind me with his arms folded over his chest. “You’re pacing.”

“No. Nothing.”

“Since when did we start lying to each other?”

I sigh. “Since never. I just don’t want to talk about it. I don’t think you do either.”

“Try me.” He sits down on the couch and pats the spot next to him for me to sit down. I hesitate at first but eventually give in and sit down next to him. 

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I really don’t want to know. I don’t think I can get out of this now. I can’t even think of an alternative topic to talk about. “You told Jackie that you could have gone pro. I was just wondering why you never told me. I thought I knew everything about you. This seems like a big thing to leave out.”

“Oh.”

“See? You don’t want to talk about it.”

He takes a moment to think. “We can talk about it.”

“When you say you could have gone pro, how close did you get?”

“The Bears drafted me.” He looks down at the floor. He can’t even look at me.

“What happened? Why haven’t you told me? Did you get injured?”

He continues to stare at the floor in silence. My heart starts to beat a little faster. He’s been protecting me from something for all of these years, but what? “Your mom left.”

The words hit me like a punch in the stomach. The pieces are quickly falling into place. I don’t need further explanation. I shouldn’t have asked. I knew I shouldn’t have asked. I hang my head. “It’s because of me.”

“No it’s not. It’s because of me. I made the decision. It was an easy one to make.”

“But, dad, you could have lived your dream.”

“Dreams change.”

I shake my head no. “No they don’t.”

“Yes they do. Please don’t do this to yourself. This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“Because it’s my fault. I ruined your life.”

“You are the best thing to ever happen to me. You are my whole life. You are my greatest achievement, way better than anything I could have done playing football. From the moment you were born everything changed. They changed for the better. I never for a second thought anything different.”

Tears roll down my cheeks and I don’t bother wiping them, I just let them hit the floor. “I don’t believe you. You have to have some resentments.”

“Well I don’t. When you have kids you’ll understand. I could have done both. I could have been a football player and your dad but I wouldn’t have been there for you the way you would have needed me to be. It was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. Look at all of the great times we had together. I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world.”

I bury my face in my hands and begin to cry. “I am so sorry.”

He hugs me. “You don’t have to be. I promise you. I love being your dad, I love being a coach, and the most important thing is that I love you more than anything in this world. You are my daughter and I would happily do anything for you.”

I hug him back and rest my head on his shoulder. “I wish I knew.”

“I wish you didn’t. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. I wasn’t thinking. I’ve sheltered you from this information for so long, and for good reason, you didn’t need to know.”

“You’re the best dad anyone could ever ask for.”

He rests his head on mine. “That’s all I ever wanted. That’s the real dream.” I hug him tighter and snuggle up close. “I can’t even remember the last time we cuddled like this.”

“Too long.” I had no idea he’s been keeping this secret for all of this time. I know he doesn’t want me to feel bad but I can’t help it. I do, and that’s not going to change any time soon. I know he says I am his life but football is his life too. Maybe knowing isn’t so bad. Maybe it’ll bring us closer together, if that’s even possible. I’m enjoying this way too much. I’m a grown adult cuddling with her dad. It is making me feel better, though. 

“We should get going to bed before we both fall asleep here.”

“Yeah. Sorry I made you tell me.”

“It’s ok. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept it from you for this long.”

“I don’t blame you.”

We stand up and he hugs me once more. “Goodnight, cheeks.”

I roll my eyes and smile. “Night, daddio.” 

We each go into the rooms we’ve been staying in. I get changed into pajamas and get into bed. I still don’t feel so great about the conversation my dad and I had. I still feel bad. I need something to take my mind off it. I look at the time, it’s a little late, but maybe Tyler’s still awake. I really wish he were here right now. I need him. I need him to hold me. Hearing his voice will have to do. Seeing his face would be even better. I pick up my phone and send the FaceTime request and pray that he answers.

I instantly smile when Tyler’s face pops up on my screen and he smiles right back. He then furrows his brow with concern. “You’ve been crying. Is everything ok?” He knows me far too well.

“It’s been an interesting night.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I need to be distracted from it.”

“It wasn’t anything my family did, was it?”

“No, of course not. They’ve been nothing but wonderful.”

“I didn’t think they would but I just had to make sure.” He takes a moment to study my face. I try my best to smile but it doesn’t work. I’m still fighting back tears that I really don’t want him to see. I’m sure my eyes are glassy as they’re welling up. I turn away to blink them out of my eyes and I can feel them rolling down my cheeks once again. “Amy, what’s going on? Are you sure you’re ok?”

I take a deep breath and look at the camera once again. “I never said I was ok.”

“Then talk to me. Tells me what’s wrong.”

“It’s too much.”

“I’ve got all night. Don’t make me take a six hour Uber. I’ll do it and you know it.”

I smile slightly. “I know you would.”

“Communication, remember? We tell each other everything. It’s not something I did, is it?”

“No, Ty.”

“Let me fix it.”

“It can’t be fixed.”

“Let me try.”

“My dad mentioned to your mom that he could have gone pro, something I didn’t know, something I wasn’t supposed to know. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I kept wondering why he never told me when I thought I knew everything about him, so I asked him, and…” I take a deep breath to contain my emotions but instead they come spilling out. A loud sob, followed by more tears. Tyler looks helpless on my screen. Calling him was a mistake. This would have been better done in person so he could hold me.

“Hey, hey, hey. Just breathe. Look at me. You don’t have to tell me right now. I’d rather you just calm down. We can talk when I get back home.”

“My mom left, Tyler. My mom left and he had to raise me by himself. He couldn’t be a single dad and play football. He had to choose and he chose me. He chose me over football. He chose me over his dream. Because of me he had to put his life on hold.”

“Because of your mom, not because of you.”

“I was the factor.”

“He did what he had to do and I bet not one bit of him regrets it. You are the most important thing to him and you know that.”

“I feel so guilty.”

“Because you love him. If he decided to play you wouldn’t have the strong bond that you two have. I bet that’s worth more to him than anything. I know how much he loves you and how special he feels knowing that he raised you to be the incredible woman you are today.”

“There’s gotta be what ifs there.”

“I doubt there are but even if once in a while he thinks that what does it matter? Everything that has happened in your lives has led you to now. Everything would be different.”

“Would you give up hockey for your child?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

“I want to hear it.”

“If I were in the same position as him, which I pray to God never happens, family comes first. I would absolutely retire if it meant being there for my kid. I wouldn’t consider it a sacrifice or a burden, it would be my privilege and honor.”

The tears continue to flow. “Goddammit, Tyler.” Why does he have to be so sweet. I didn’t want to cry in front of him.

“Please don’t leave me, though, ever. I don’t want to have to make that decision and I certainly don’t want to live my life without you.”

“You’re stuck with me. I’m not going anywhere.”

He smiles. “Good.”

“I feel stupid for being upset.”

“Don’t be. Like I said before, it’s because you love him. You think he would have been happier if he chose football but you’re wrong. He would have regretted not being there one hundred percent for you. That’s what he would have regretted, not choosing to take care of you instead.”

I sigh. “You’re right.”

“I’m always right. When are you going to accept that?” His smile slowly creeps across his face, so proud of himself.

“Yes, of course, what was I thinking?” I ask as sarcastically as I can sound. 

“It's ok. Not everyone can be this perfect.”

I laugh. I laugh at how adorable he is, at how ridiculous he is. He laughs too, somehow making his smile even bigger. “You always make everything better, Ty.”

“I do my best. I hate to see you upset. No more tears, ok?”

“Ok.”

“You look tired.”

“I am a little tired.” I am more than a little tired, but i don’t really want this call to end. I want to see his face for a little longer.

“Go to sleep. I get to see you in two days.”

I look at the time. It’s almost 1am. “Technically tomorrow.”

“Even better. Have fun. Keep me updated.”

“I will. Stay out of trouble on your day off.”

“Always. I bet you have more of a chance getting in trouble with my mom than I do with the guys.”

“Depends how much wine we drink.”

He smiles. “Don’t get arrested.”

“We won’t. Promise. Goodnight. I love you.”

“I love you too. Bye.”


	29. Drunk Chuck

Normally I wouldn’t say I enjoyed a six hour drive but I actually did enjoy this six hour drive from Brampton to Montreal. Spending all of this time with Tyler’s family has been so rewarding. I’ve heard so much about them over the last six or seven months and I’m happy to now have my own experiences and memories with them. Even my dad has opened up a lot during this trip. He and Jackie get along so well, but it’s Jeff who he’s really bonded with. Yesterday we branched out on our own. The girls had their day together and the guys had their day together. We finished it off with a nice dinner out. It was a good time but I did wish Tyler could have been there. He would have loved to see us all getting along so well. Plus, I miss him.

While Tyler’s away we usually text as much as we can and every so often we FaceTime when I am really missing his face. I’ve been making sure to keep him updated on everything that’s been going on while spending time with his family. He tells me he’s been getting updates from them too. He’s been teasing me about missing warm ups in Toronto and reminding me not to miss it in Montreal. Part of me wants to stay in our seats just to spite him, but that’s a very small part of me. I’d rather see him.

When we get to the Bell Centre we split up. Jackie and Jeff go to our seats and I try to figure out which side of the arena we need to sit on to see the Stars warm up. We ask a few people who are less than helpful then luckily a few Stars fans spot us and have us follow them to where we need to be. There’s still a long time until warm ups start so my dad goes to get himself a beer. I don’t need anything for right now. Tyler told me a little bit about the history and atmosphere of Montreal so I’m just trying to take it all in. 

My dad comes back with his beer in one hand and some sort of pink colored drink in the other. He hands me the pink drink. “All of the girls were ordering this so I got you one.” 

“Thanks. How old were these girls?”

“Uhhh. I, um, didn’t ask for ID or anything. They said it’s good, though. Drink it.”

“Was it cute French Canadian girls?” I nudge him with my elbow playfully. 

He rolls his eyes. “They were just being nice.”

“Mhmm. You’re a catch!”

“Stop it. It was nothing. I just asked if it was something my daughter would like.”

“Ouch, dad, you don’t tell them you have a daughter first thing in the conversation.”

“I wasn’t flirting!”

I laugh. I love teasing him. He can get so defensive when it comes to this kind of stuff. I don’t see the big deal at this point. We are both adults and I just want to know he’s having fun, happy, and eventually loved. I take a sip of the drink and it’s really, really good but really, really strong. “That is very good, but very dangerous. No more of those for me.”

He smirks. “Lightweight.”

“You’re like 5 feet taller than me. You can’t judge.”

He drinks some of his beer. “I’m going to have to try all of the other beers they have here. This is very good.”

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Why not? I’m not driving.”

“You don’t get drunk, though.”

“That you know of.”

“I knew you had a secret life behind my back.”

He chuckles and continues to smirk afterwards. I’m starting to think there’s a lot more to my dad than I know. “We should get someone to take our picture. I’d like that better than a selfie.”

I look around to see if there’s someone wearing Stars gear that can take our picture. I spot a some girls a few rows back, both of them are wearing Tyler’s jersey. When we make eye contact they start making their way towards me. They must have read my mind because I didn’t even call them over yet. “Hi, um, could you take a picture of me and my dad real quick?”

“Yeah, sure,” one of them replies as she holds her hand out for my phone. 

My dad wraps his arm around me and pulls me close for the picture. I smile my biggest smile and she takes the picture then hands me my phone back to me. “Thank you so much. He hates selfies.”

“No problem.” They look at each other then back at me. “I’m sorry if this is weird, but, uh, are you Tyler Seguin’s girlfriend?”

I blush a little and glance at the floor before nodding my head. “Yes I am.”

“Ohh. Cool. We thought we recognized you but we weren’t sure. It’s nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you too. I’ll let Tyler know that I met some nice fans tonight.” They smile at each other and thank me before taking a seat a few rows behind us. My dad nudges me with his elbow. I look up at him and he smiles. “What?”

“They know you. You’re famous.”

“Tyler’s famous. I’m just his girlfriend.”

“Are the fans usually nice to you?”

“To my face, yeah.”

“They’re not nice behind your back?”

“On the internet some aren’t so nice. Instagram especially. Tyler says not to pay attention to that stuff, but sometimes it’s hard to ignore it. It’s all over his posts.”

“Oh. I’m sorry you have to go through that.”

“It is what it is. We love each other and that’s all that matters.”

He smiles. “That’s true. You’re right.” He gives me a side hug and kisses my temple. “You and Tyler are perfect together.”

“Thanks, dad. There’s no manual for being a famous athlete’s girlfriend. You just have to learn as things come up. You figure out real quick what’s important and what you have to let roll off your back.”

“You seem to be handling it pretty well. Considering...nevermind.” I can see him blushing a bit and he looks straight ahead at the empty ice.

“Considering how many females want him?”

“I, uh, didn’t say that.”

“But you were thinking it. It’s ok. I’m aware. It’s not a secret.”

“I don’t know how you do it. That would probably drive me nuts.”

“I trust him. They can look all they want. At the end of the day he loves me and only wants to be with me.”

“He brings out the feistiness in you.” He sounds amused. I shake my head and roll my eyes. He’s ridiculous. “There’s that attitude.”

I playfully push him. Of course he doesn’t budge. “Oh hush.” 

He chuckles then points to the time counting down. “It’s almost time.”

The clock ticks down and the players shoot out onto the ice. Tyler’s always second to last so it always feels like I’m waiting so long before he comes out. He’s already smiling as he takes the ice, Jamie is too which means they were goofing off in the tunnel most likely. He does his usual stretching in front of us and smiles when he sees me. He gives me a little wave before standing up and skating off. You couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face.

When Tyler skates around along the boards and stops in front of me he turns around to face me and smiles. He usually doesn’t do this. He usually just does his normal routine. I smile as soon as we lock eyes and he gives me a kissy face. I shake my head at him and he coyly shrugs. The guys behind him want to move along so he moves out of their way and pushes them past him. He puts his gloved hand up on the glass and I put my hand up to his. He rests his forehead against the glass and I do the same with mine. Even though there is a sheet of glass between us I feel closer to him than I have in a while. 

We look up into each other’s eyes and smile. Tyler’s face gets pressed up against the glass in a loud bump. I jump back from being startled. Jamie laughs behind Tyler and pushes him again. Tyler turns around and pushes him back and they skate away laughing. I look up at my dad who seems a little amused. I point to Tyler. “That’s the love of my life right there.”

“You guys are painfully cute together.”

I blush. I always forget that other people are in the room when Tyler’s around, even when we are in an arena filled with people. “Thanks, dad. He just makes me so happy.”

He wraps his arm around me. “I know he does, and I love him for it.”

“This has been a pretty successful trip, eh?”

“Yeah, I’d say so. You've gone full blown Canadian.” He smiles proudly at his little dig at me. 

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He smiles and drinks the rest of his beer.

The rest of warm ups goes by the usual routine and after Tyler is the last player off of the ice my dad and I head up to the concourse to go to our seats. My dad stops off to get more drinks and I make my way around to our seats. The line is way too long and I’d rather go spend some more time with Jackie and Jeff.   
I don’t really know how Jackie and I allowed it to happen, but my dad and Jeff have managed to get pretty drunk and it’s only the beginning of the second period. We are sitting on the end of the row and it’s been easy for Jeff to slip out into the aisle and walk up to the concourse for beers for the two of them. We apologize to each other for them and laugh. It’s not that they’re not entertaining, it’s just that we didn’t really expect to have to babysit them on this trip. I haven’t really seen my dad drunk before so this is a whole new experience for me. 

“Why don’t you slow down?” Jackie pleads with Jeff as he stands up to make another trip for some more. She grabs onto the waistband of his jeans to stop him. 

“Reeeelaaaax. It’s fine. We’re fine. Right, Chuck?”

“Fiiiine. So fiiiiine,” my dad says, drawn out, his Texas accent sounding ridiculously more Texan than I’ve ever heard before. 

Jackie sighs and lets him go and he hugs onto the railing as he makes his way up the stairs. She turns to me and apologizes for him and I let her know it’s really ok. I don’t find it as an inconvenience, they are being pretty entertaining. 

While Jeff is away Tyler scores a goal. Jackie and I shoot up from our seats and give each other high fives and scream our heads off for him. My dad gives him a “way to go, Tyler” as he claps for him. I notice some Canadiens fans around us giving us dirty looks, but I don’t care, they’re not going to ruin my night and they’re not going to stop me for cheering for my boyfriend.

When Jeff comes back from his beer run Jackie scolds him for missing Tyler’s goal and basically orders him to stay in his seat until intermission. During one of the TV timeouts my dad shows me the pictures of Tyler he tried taking during warm ups on his phone. A few of them came out pretty clear. I absolutely love how much my dad has gotten into hockey and rooting for Tyler. He even took pictures of me and Tyler being “painfully cute”, as he puts it. I love how those pictures came out. I make sure to send them to myself since I don’t trust drunk Chuck to remember to do so. 

With a few minutes to go in the second period Tyler scores another goal. This time all four of us jump out of our seats to cheer Tyler on. We each take turns hugging each other and giving each other high fives. I don’t want to sit back down. I want to stand and cheer Tyler on like this for the rest of the game. I do know I will get something thrown at my head if I don’t sit down, though, so I sit. 

As soon as the clock ticks down to zero Jeff sprints up the stairs to get more beer before Jackie can protest. I scroll through the pictures of me and Tyler that my dad took and can’t help smiling. I know we are disgusting but he makes me so happy. I don’t care what everyone else thinks of us. 

“You’re going to marry him, right?” my dad asks as he peers over my shoulder at my phone. 

“You’re so drunk.”

“I don’t need to be drunk to know that he’s the one.”

“The one? Oh god, dad.”

“Don’t be stubborn. You know it, I know it, he knows it. Hell, anyone who sees you two together knows it.”

“It’s too soon to be thinking about that.”

“There are no time tables. Love is love.”

“I’m telling Jeff that you’re cut off. No more for you.”

“You, little lady, are not the boss of me. I am your father.”

“My drunk father who doesn’t even know what he’s saying.”

“I know what I’m saying. You’ve found what everyone on this Earth looks for their entire lives. Grab onto it and don’t let go. Trust me.”

Jackie leans in towards me. “He’s right, you know, and I haven’t had one drink.”

All I can do is smile and blush. I can’t really argue with them. “She knows that we’re right, Jackie.”

It’s not that I don’t want to marry Tyler or that I am afraid of making a commitment, it’s more because it just seems so soon to think about. Tyler and I haven’t really talked about marriage, not seriously, not really at all. I’m ok with that. I’ve been ok with that. The way things are now is perfect and I don’t want to mess with that. We will be ready when we are ready.

When Jeff comes back with the beers I tell him that my dad is cut off. I don’t think either of them are going to listen to me, but I had to at least try to get them to slow down. Jackie complains to him that he keeps forgetting to get us something to eat and sends him back for food. I am convinced that along with our food he will be coming back with another round of drinks. And I’m not wrong. That’s exactly what happens.

Now that Tyler has two goals, every time he’s on the ice I am even more on edge than usual. Any time he gets the puck is the potential for him to get his third goal and hat trick. What a great end to the trip that would be. I have been lucky enough to see Tyler get a hat trick before, but my dad hasn’t. I would love for him to experience it. Even though we are on the road and it won’t be the same kind of atmosphere as it would be at home, it would still be a great experience. 

As the third period starts to wind down I start to think that this game is going to end with Tyler scoring just two goals, which I am definitely still excited for. The Stars are winning and have been dominating so I can’t complain. With two minutes to go the Canadiens pull their goalie and my heart rate goes up even more. This can give Tyler and even better shot at the hat trick. Tyler gets a few opportunities but misses the net with one and his shot is blocked for the other. When his shift is over I figure that he won’t be back out on the ice again, but he jumps back out after guzzling down some water. 

The Stars are in their end when Tyler gets the puck and instead of charging up the ice with it he hurls the puck towards the net from the face off circle. And everyone watches as it bounces into the zone then glides right into the net. 

“THAT’S THREE!” I scream as I stand up to cheer for Tyler’s goal. I look over at him and he is laughing with his teammates. I don’t think he expected to actually make that shot. He was practically on his knees when he shot it. 

“Throw your hat, Chuck, throw your hat!” Jeff exclaims as he points towards the ice. My dad shakes his head no. “You gotta! It’s for the boy!” Jeff snatches the hat off of my dad’s head and flings it at the ice. We aren’t too far from the glass so the hat makes it over with no problem. We are the only ones to throw a hat but how could we not? My dad looks like he’s in shock, which makes me laugh. Acceptance sets in and he sits back down. 

“Tyler will give you another one, I’m sure,” Jackie reassures him.

“He has so many of them, dad,” I add. He did look genuinely concerned that his gift from Tyler was now laying on the ice. One of the ice crew picks it up and hands it over to someone on the Stars bench. “They are probably going to give it to him anyway. See?”

The game ends and the Stars win thanks to Tyler’s three goals. It’s so nice to see him so happy and so in his element. I’m glad my dad got to see some great games. It’s always so much more fun when you win, although, the family time has been worth the trip alone. Now it’s a matter of waiting to see Tyler after the game. This will be the last time I see him in about a week. They still have a few games left on this road trip. 

Once the players come out they take pictures and sign autographs for a few fans before walking over to family. Tyler walks over to us with his arms out and envelops me in a hug when he gets close. “Good job, hat trick man,” I say as I hug him back.

He nuzzles into my hair and neck. “Thanks, babe.” He kisses my cheek.

“My dad threw his hat out.”

“Jeff threw my hat out,” my dad corrects me. I had forgotten he was so drunk until he opened his mouth and slurred every single word. 

Tyler’s eyes light up as soon as he realizes that he’s drunk. “Had a few drinks, did you, Chuck?”

“A few, yeah.” 

“Way more than a few. The both of them,” Jackie says as she points to my dad and Jeff.

“Well, thank you for the hat. I’ll be sure to get it back to you, Chuck.”

“I am so proud that you’re going to be my future son-in-law,” my dad says as he drapes his arm over Tyler’s shoulders. 

Tyler smiles from ear to ear. “Yeah? As long as you think so, big guy.” Tyler looks at me. “I love drunk Chuck.”

I shake my head. “I can’t believe you just called him that, dad.”

My dad shrugs. “It’s true and we all know it.” Tyler smiles and blushes. “I’m sorry if that embarrasses you, son.”

“It doesn’t embarrass me at all.” Tyler smiles at me before kissing my cheek. He leans in and says in my ear, “I’m going to spend some time with my mom, then I’ll come back to you.” He gives me a quick peck on the lips before walking over to Jackie and Jeff.

After Tyler spends some much needed time with Jackie he walks over to me and pulls me aside. The look on his face tells me we don’t have much time left. He holds me by the hips. “So how was your first trip to Canada?”

“Better than I ever could have imagined. I love your family.”

“They love you too. Even Chuck’s been a big hit.”

“I wish we had more time together.” I look down at the floor as I feel myself getting more and more emotional.

He lifts my chin up so I can look at him. “When I get home we will spend as much time together as we can. I promise.” He smiles which, of course, makes me smile. “There’s my smile.”

“I always hate leaving you.”

He cradles my cheeks in his hands then rests his forehead against mine. “I hate it too. Just a few more days, though.” He sighs. “It’ll be here before we know it.” 

He hugs me tightly against him and I hug him back. “I know. I know.” He kisses me then looks at his watch. “You gotta go?”

“Yeah. I’ll text you when we land, though, unless you think you’ll be sleeping.”

“Text me anyway. You know I always want to know that you’re safe.”

He slowly and sweetly kisses me and I melt into him as I kiss him back. Being in his arms, kissing him, the way I feel when he smiles at me, these are the things I miss the most when we are apart. We reluctantly pull away from each other. We say our I love yous and Tyler gives me one more hug before saying goodbye to everyone else and walking away. 

We aren’t going to be driving back to Brampton tonight. We will be staying in a hotel for the night then driving back tomorrow. Our flight back to Texas is the day after tomorrow and then it will be back to business as usual. I have had such a great time meeting the rest of Tyler’s family and I can’t wait to come back and spend more time here during the summer. The icing on the cake is that my dad also had a great time and really seems to enjoy Tyler’s family as much as I do. The only reason I am looking forward to going home is that Tyler will be home a few days after me and I will be in his arms once again. My happy place.


	30. A surprise and the dog park

Whenever I am given the opportunity to go home early from work I take it. They’re doing some kind of network maintenance and my boss let us choose between staying or leaving. I chose leaving before the words even left his lips. If I time this right I could be to Tyler’s house by the time he gets home from practice. I love surprising him.

I rush out of work before anyone can ask me to go to lunch with them because I really don’t want to feel guilty for saying no. I stop off at Eatzi’s to pick myself up some lunch, something for Tyler too. I’d hate to show up empty handed. The problem with going to Eatzi’s is that there is so much to choose from, everything is delicious, and it’s impossible to make a decision. I always spend way too much time looking at the food and Tyler always makes fun of me for it.

I get him the grilled salmon because I know how much he likes it. I am still lost on what I want so I wander back and forth in front of the food cases. Do I want a sandwich? Do I want a salad? Do I want none of those things? Do I want both? I take time away from trying to figure out my main course and mosey on over to the bakery to pick out dessert. Creme brulee, lemon tarts, brownies, and of course a red velvet cupcake. Tyler doesn’t really eat sweets but I keep them in his fridge for when I get a sweet tooth while I’m at his place.

I finally settle on caprese salad and chicken fajitas, which sounds like a weird combination but I like both of them. I just couldn’t decide. I also grab myself a fruit salad. This seems like way too much, but I’m expecting it to last me until tomorrow. Once I pay for everything I get on my way to Tyler’s. It’s only 3 minutes away, very convenient.

The regular season has ended and the Stars are preparing for the playoffs. I’m excited to spend some time with him before the busy playoff season starts. I’m also excited to cheer on the love of my life hopefully all the way until he wins the Stanley Cup. He’s shown me video from the time he won when he was a rookie but he’s such a different person now than he was then. He really wants to bring the cup back to Dallas. It’s something that’s so important to him. We’ve been talking about it a lot lately as I’ve been spending a lot of my nights at his place ever since he got back from the road trip. Grace has as well. It’s been our new normal.

In a house with four dogs in it it’s practically impossible to sneak in but I try my best to get inside undetected. I don’t want them to give me away but, of course, as soon as I open the door they come running. Once they see it’s me they come towards me faster, their tails wagging so hard that their butts wiggle too. If I’m lucky Tyler hasn’t noticed the stampede of dogs going through the house and I can put the food down in the kitchen and find where he is.

I sneak into the living room to find him passed out on the couch on his back with one arm tucked under his head. He must have fallen asleep with his snapback on or sleepily tossed it aside because it’s on the floor next to him. He must be having a nice dream because he has a little smirk on his face. Some of his hair has fallen into his face. He looks so cute and peaceful and I hate to wake him up but I can’t resist.

I move the hair out of his face and lean down to kiss him on the forehead, one cheek, and then the other. He doesn’t budge. I kiss him on the lips and I feel him smile, then his hands on my back before moving them down to my ass and pulling me on top of him.

“What a way to wake up,” he says before pulling me onto his chest for a hug. He kisses my temple. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Got to leave early today. Sorry I interrupted your nap.”

“You’re a very welcome interruption.” He pulls me in for another kiss. His hands immediately go back to grabbing my ass and pulling me into him.

I take a second to breathe. “I brought lunch. We should…”

“Lunch can wait.” He smiles before pulling me in for another kiss. He’s right. This kiss is way better than lunch. His hands return to my ass as I start to grind on him as we deepen the kiss. I can feel all of the blood draining from my brain. He always makes me so dizzy. Kissing him takes me to a whole other world. He runs his hands up and down my back under my shirt before taking my shirt off and dropping it to the floor on top of his discarded hat. He pulls me down closer to his mouth and kisses my neck and makes his way back up to my lips. He slowly slips his tongue in between my lips. His hands sneak under the waistband of my jeans and panties and grab my ass hard.

I moan into the kiss. “Fuck, Ty.”

He smirks. “Ok.” He combs his hand through my hair and cups the back of my head as he pulls me in to continue kissing. It’s sloppy and desperate and I can feel him getting hard underneath me, which drives me absolutely crazy. I grind slower but harder on him to feel his erection against me. I’m so thankful for the thin fabric of the shorts he’s wearing. I start to get a rhythm going until the alarm on his phone goes off. It makes me jump a little since I wasn’t expecting it. Tyler quickly breaks from the kiss. “Oh shit, oh shit, shit, shit.”

I sigh. “What’s the alarm for?”

“I have to call the radio.”

“Right now?”

“In like, 5 minutes. Fuck! You gotta get off.”

“That’s what I was trying to do.”

He smiles. “Funny. No really, I have to get ready. Dammit!”

I get off of him and he sits up and fixes his hair, as if someone’s going to see him or something. “You gonna be able to talk hockey with that massive boner?” I run my palm slowly over the head.

“You are not helping.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“No. Unfortunately. I’m so sorry.” He kisses me. “I’ll make it up to you. We’ll continue after. Promise.” He gives me one more long kiss before taking a deep breath and trying to compose himself. My heart is still racing and I can practically still feel him pressing into me. There’s no way I’m going to just be able to turn it off.

“This sucks.”

“Ten minutes, babe, fifteen tops.”

“I don’t think I can wait.”

He looks at me with his patented confused Tyler expression. Eyebrow and lip curled up. The word huh written all over his face. I kneel down in front of him and pull his shorts off of him. Of course he isn’t wearing underwear. I didn’t think he was. He already has his shirt off, which also isn’t a surprise. “Amy, no.” He shakes his head. “No, no, no.”

He’s saying no but he scoots up so he’s more on the edge of the couch, making it easier for me. “No? Are you sure you mean no?” I push his legs apart by his knees.

“We can’t---hey, guys.” I look up at him and smirk as he tries to avoid eye contact.

“Is this distracting?” I lick his cock from the base of the shaft to the tip.

He places his hand on my head and loosely grips onto my hair. “Iiiiii, uh, what was the question? Oh. Right. Yeah. We’re excited to…..be…..in the playoffs...again.” He struggles through his sentence as I roll my tongue over the head of his cock and back down the shaft.

“Sleep? Uh, I mean, yeah. I just...” Takes a deep breath. “woke up.”

I kiss the inside of his thigh and up to his abs to give him a little reprieve for the moment. I look up at him and he combs his fingers through my hair with one hand as he covers his face with the other. I imagine it’s pretty hard for him to keep it together. I commend him for getting this far. I am aching for him and wish he would just hang up the phone.

“A little distracted, yeah. My, uh, g - Gerry is all over me and licking me. Sorry.” He looks down at me and glares at me. I smile and kiss down his abs and wrap my lips around the head of his cock and slowly take him into my mouth. What he says after that is lost on me. I have more important things to focus on.

He grabs my head with both hands, grips onto my hair a little bit while I suck on the head for a bit, continuing to roll my tongue over the tip. His answers have turned into either one worded or just sounds. I take a glance up at him to see that his head is thrown back on the couch and he’s looking up at the ceiling. He looks down at me and I give him a devilish smile before taking his full length in. His eyes roll into the back of his head and I go back to making love to his cock with my mouth.

I make sure not to go too fast because I don’t actually want him to cum while he’s on the radio. I just want to tease him until he can’t stand it any longer, then I want him to fuck me through the couch when he gets off the damn phone. Ten minutes feels like an eternity but somehow we make it to the end without him cumming and without me taking the phone out of his hand, throwing it across the room, and straddling him.

He stands up, takes his airpods out of his ears, and places them down on the coffee table before. I stand up with him. “You’re so fucking bad,” he growls as he grabs both of the sides of my button down top and rips it open. The buttons fly everywhere as he pulls me up against him and sucks on my neck. I grab his cock and stroke him to continue what I started. He sloppily and desperately kisses up my neck and to my ear. “I’ll buy you a new one.” He breathes heavily in my ear with each stroke. He had to hold so much in while he was on the phone.

I tighten my grip ever so slightly and he moans. “I don’t give a shit, Ty, just fuck me.”

He guides me down onto the couch where I lay down. He swiftly pulls my slacks off and I take my panties off while he throws them out of the way. He wastes no time and shoves himself deep into me with one thrust. This is what I’ve been wanting all day and I let a loud, animalistic moan out telling him so. He quickens his pace and goes deep inside of me every time. I grab onto his ass to pull him further.

He nips at my collarbone. “You’re so filthy.”

“I can’t help it. I love your cock.”

He smiles. “Yeah you do.” He kisses me and sticks his tongue into my mouth. I suck on it and he begins to thrust harder.

“Harder, baby. I want you so fucking bad.”

“Take it all, naughty girl. God, you’re so fucking hot.”

The more we get into it, the less words are spoken and the more sounds come out of both of us. Moans, grunts, heavy breathing. He pounds into me like a jackhammer and it’s euphoria. He holds my hands down as he bites down on my shoulder and I orgasm hard. I ride out my orgasm as he has one himself. He’s still clamped down on my shoulder and he kisses the spot he obviously left teeth marks in, then works his way up to my neck, and eventually to my lips. He rests his sweaty forehead against mine and looks into my eyes. “I love you. You’re crazy. But I love you.”

“I love you too.” He smiles and kisses me sweetly. It doesn’t seem like he wants to move as he continues to hover over me and look down at me. All of a sudden I am very aware that we are not the only ones in the room and we are being watched. I look around Tyler to see all four dogs on the other part of the couch watching us. I cover my face with my hands. “We are being watched.”

Tyler looks behind him at our audience. “Bunch of perverts, all of you. Don’t you get any ideas, Gerry.” He finally gets up off of me, grabs his shorts from the floor and puts them on, then sits down by my feet. He looks at the floor where my clothes are strewn about. “Sorry I ripped your shirt. The buttons are everywhere.” He starts to pick the buttons up off of the floor.

“Worth it.”

I sit up and he picks up my panties and hands them to me. “I mean it when I say I’ll buy you a new one.” He kisses my forehead as I put them on.

“It’s really not a big deal. I have more.” He grabs my slacks and hands those to me as well. “I’m not going to put them on. I’m going to put on some sweatpants, eat lunch, then shower.”

“Sounds good.”

“I brought you lunch just in case you didn’t have it already.”

“I did, but I am hungry again. Thanks, babe, you’re the best.”

“I couldn’t go to Eatzi’s and not get you anything.”

“You got me Eatzi’s and we’re still talking?”

“You’re the one who said lunch can wait.”

“I didn’t know it was Eatzi’s.” He smiles. “Let’s go eat.”

Tyler and I eat lunch then take a quick shower to get ourselves cleaned off and head to his room to cuddle for a little while. We have plans to take the dogs to MUTTS Canine Cantina later. It’s a dog park that also serves food and drinks. Everywhere is dog friendly. It’s a fairly new place and we have been looking forward to checking it out.

We get in bed and I rest my head on his chest as he holds onto me. It’s not much longer that the dogs start to trickle in the room and join us one by one in bed. The whole family is together and it feels so good. He mindlessly plays with my hair when he’s not rubbing my back or tracing circles on the skin of my arm.

“Why did you come home early again?”

“Our network was down so they gave us the option of going home and I took it.”

He smiles. “Nice three day weekend for you.”

“It could stay down for another month and I’d be happy with that.”

“I would be too.” He kisses my forehead. “Happy to have today, though. I’ll take what I can get.”

“I’m happy we have the weekend before the playoffs start. I get to have you to myself for a bit longer.”

“It’s gonna get crazy.”

“I’ll be there supporting you.”

“To come home to every night?”

“If that’s what you need, yeah, I could stay here.”

“It’s such a grind and it would make me feel a whole lot better to have you with me.”

“Then that’s what I’ll do.”

He smiles wide. “Cool. Thanks. It sucks that we are away first. I can’t wait for you to see what playoff hockey is like.”

“I can’t wait either. I’m going to cheer my head off for you.”

“You always do.”

“True.”

Tyler pulls the blanket up on me and covers me up. “Gonna take a picture. Don’t need the world seeing you naked.”

“Oh. Thanks. Should I fix my hair?”

“No. This is an in the moment thing. Just want to have this.”

“To show to everyone, though.”

“To brag how good I’ve got it.” I look up at him and he smiles before kissing the tip of my nose. He can be so sweet sometimes. He always wants to show me off. His Instagram has gone from mostly pictures of his dogs to pictures of his dogs and me mixed in as well. He definitely keeps most of the pictures he takes of me to himself, but every once in a while he shares some. Most of the time I’m just on his Snapchat since that’s just for his friends and family to see. He knows that’s a judge free zone and private.

I rest my head back down on his chest so he can take the picture. He wraps his arm around me and takes the picture. “Do we look cute?” I ask as I hold my hand out for the phone to look at it.

“You look cute. I’m not in it. Well, my arm is but it’s all about you.”

I look at the picture and I love it but I would love it even more if he was in it as well. I give him the phone back. “Can you take one with you in it for me?”

“Of course.” He takes one. “Ok, got it. One more.” I feel his lips on my forehead and I immediately smile. “I love that one. I’ll post all three.” He gives me the phone to look at them.

“You don’t have to.” I look at the pictures and they’re adorable. The first one with him in it he’s looking at the camera and smiling so wide. The second one is sweet. He always makes me feel so loved and so lucky to have him in my life.

“I want to. I love you.”

“How’d you get to be so fucking sweet?”

“I met you.”

“You are so damn corny.”

“It’s true! It’s all your fault.” I laugh and he rolls his eyes. “Posting the pictures now.” He holds the phone out so I can see the caption he’s going to write. “So mean, making fun of me,” he mutters.

“I am not mean. I love you.” He scoffs in response, then smiles. “I am the luckiest guy in the world,” I read his caption out loud before he posts it. “Aww, Ty. See? I wasn’t wrong.”

“Oh whatever.” I poke him in the side to tickle him. He laughs then very seriously says, “don’t.” As his Canadian accent comes out. He grabs onto my finger and gently bites on it. “You wanna keep it, right?”

“It might be worth the loss.”

He lets go. “I’ll let you keep it this time.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.”

A text notification comes through on his phone and he looks at it. He chuckles a bit and shakes his head before putting the phone down on the bed side table. He goes back to holding me. “My sisters have texted me more since meeting you than I’ve probably gotten in a whole year from them. They love you.”

“We have a group text going on now so we talk pretty regularly.”

“Without me? That’s a little rude.”

“It’s girl talk mostly, you wouldn’t be interested.”

“Girl talk with my sisters? Gross.”

“Relax. It’s harmless for the most part.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

I smile. “Isn’t it a good thing that I get along so well with your family?”

“Yeah it is. I just like giving them a hard time. It’s my job as the big brother.”

“I see. Are you sure you’re not jealous that they like me better than you?”

He exaggerates a gasp. “They do not!”

I laugh. “Uh huh.”

“You’re asking for it,” he threatens.

“Asking for what?”

He suddenly turns on his side and wraps his arms and legs around me from behind so I can’t move at all. He doesn’t say anything but starts tickling me and I try to squirm out of his grasp as I am hysterical laughing. The dogs all start to stir as we disturb their naps. I scream for mercy through my laughs and all he does is laugh in response and tickle me more. I make another attempt to wiggle away but he still has a firm grip on me. “Had enough?” he asks.

“Yes! I’m sorry! They like you more!”

He stops tickling me and kisses my cheek. “That’s what I thought.” Both of us have to catch our breath and I lean back on him as we do so. He kisses my shoulder where he had bit earlier. “Sorry about your shoulder. I got carried away.”

“No need to apologize.” I reach back and rub the back of his head and comb my fingers through his hair. “It was hot.”

He rests his chin on my shoulder and holds me close. “I guess it’s not the first time I’ve done it.”

“Nope. I will let you know right away if you do something I don’t like, otherwise, don’t worry about it.”

“Mmm. Ok.” He kisses my neck. “I know you like this.”

“I do. Very much.” He nuzzles into my neck and the hairs of his beard tickle me so I laugh. “Your beard tickles.”

He rubs it harder. “Like this?” I shriek because now it’s scratching me. “Does this bother you?”

I laugh and cry out, “Tyler, stop!” Gerry gets up and starts jumping all over us. He thinks it’s play time. “Oh god, Ger.”

“He knows we are going to the park. Don’t ya, bud?” he says in his enthusiastic puppy voice. “You wanna go to the park?” Gerry starts running and jumping excitedly all over the bed.

“Look what you’ve done.”

“Let’s get ready to go to the park!” Tyler continues. Grace has now joined in on the craziness. Cash jumps off the bed and stands there not sure what to do and Marshall sticks his face in Tyler’s face as if to say really, dad? Did you need to get them all worked up? He even paws at him a couple of times.

“You’ve upset the king,” I tease.

Tyler scratches Marshall’s chin and cheek. “Come on, old man, lighten up. You used to be young once.”

“Leave poor Marshall alone, Ty, he just got trampled.” I pull Marshall into my lap and rub his ears, head, and chin.

“He is fine and we should probably start getting ready to go or we’ll never leave.”

“I suppose so. Those two sure are ready.” Gerry and Grace are now on the floor of the bedroom wrestling with each other.

He gets up out of bed. “Yeah. Ok. Let’s get dressed.”

After both of us get dressed we herd all of the dogs into the G Wagen. Marshall, Cash, and Grace settle down immediately. We aren’t as lucky with Gerry, who attempts to walk in between our two seats and tries to sit up front with me. I try to push him back but he resists. “Gerry, you can’t be up here. It’s not safe.” He whines and tries to push through once more. He manages to rest his head on my thigh and I do feel a little bad as he looks up at me with his puppy dog eyes.

“Gerry, back!” Tyler says a lot more firmly and authoritative than I was sounding. Gerry huffs but he listens and takes his spot in the back with the rest of the dogs.

“That was kinda hot.”

Tyler grins. “You’re so bad.”

We had planned a midweek visit to MUTTS so it wouldn’t be as crowded but it had rained on the day we were able to go so today, Friday, is the day we are able to go. It’s still a little early so there’s not as many people here as there are going to be in a few hours, but it’s still more crowded than we would have liked it to be. We are still excited to have the dogs run around and for us to take in some drinks as well. The plan is to take the dogs to the dog park section first, let them run all of their energy out, then come to the area where we can eat and sit down for dinner. 

It must be a sight to see. Two humans, four labs. Most people show up with just one dog. We are overachievers I guess. Gerry and Grace dart off as soon as we get into the fenced in dog run. Marshall and Cash leave our sides, just a lot slower than the other two. Tyler and I habitually take our phones out to take pictures and video. He starts off taking video of the dogs and eventually turns the camera on me. “Dog park date with this beauty.” I smile and awkwardly wave. “Hey, babe.” I smile even more and cover my face. “Don’t act like you’re shy.”

“I’m not. I never know what to do on video.”

“You don’t have to do anything. Just be you.” He stands next to me and wraps his arm around my back. I do the same to him as we watch our dogs play. Gerry and Grace continue the wrestling that they had started back in Tyler’s bedroom. He kisses my temple. “They’re the reason we are here,” he says as he leans his head against mine.

“Gerry saw what he wanted and went for it.”

“Just like his dad.”

“Mhmm. You were so embarrassed.”

“But I still had the idea to follow you on Instagram. And I sent you the first message. And I invited you over. You’re welcome.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And you love me.”

“And I love you so damn much.”

He smiles from ear to ear. “I love you so damn much too. I especially love you when you surprise me like you did today.”

“Oh really. You want more Tyler Seguin shows to be like that?”

He hangs his head and shakes it as he smiles and blushes. “I didn’t mean that part, although that was...you’re such a dirty girl.” He says the last part in my ear, only for me to hear.

“You bring it out of me.”

“I’m a lucky guy. And for the record I meant just waking up to you kissing me. Everything else was amazing too, though. I just hope no one figured out what was going on.”

“I think if they did you would have heard from Tom by now.”

“Probably.” We both look over to where Marshall and Cash seem to be making friends with a few dogs. “I’m going to go see if I can sneak a video. Be right back, then we can order some drinks.”

I sneakily follow behind Tyler as he does his own sneaking to take some video of Marshall and Cash undetected. I want to get my own candid video of him. I keep my distance so he doesn’t notice me or hear me. I take video of him taking pictures or video of Marshall and Cash. He’s so cute. “Tyler’s a proud dad over there. The boys are making friends.” I stop the video as the owners of the dogs start up a conversation with him. I turn my focus to try and find where Gerry and Grace ran off to.

I get a bowl of water ready for them as I know they’ll be thirsty soon. Sure enough as soon as they see me place the bowl down on the ground they run right over to me. “Good, puppies, are you having fun?” They wag their tails as they continue drinking.

Tyler starts walking towards me from the other side of the park, Marshall and Cash are on either side of him. “You want a frozen margarita?”

“Yes, please.” Marshall and Cash take their turns drinking the water. I notice Gerry eyeing one of the bath basins filled with water they have for dogs to relax in. “Gerry, don’t even think about it or you’ll be walking home.”

Tyler giggles as he walks past me. “Let’s hope he listens to you better than he listens to me.” He kisses my cheek. “I’ll be right back with the drinks.” After the dogs all get their drinks they wander away from me again. I keep a close eye on Gerry to make sure he doesn’t jump in the bath basin.

Once Tyler has our drinks we sit down. We will let the dogs run around freely for a little bit longer before going to the food area where they need to be on leashes. Cash and Grace run off and while I’m watching them I hear water splashing. I roll my eyes. I don’t even need to look to know whose dog that was. “He. Did. Not.”

Tyler smiles. “He sure did.” I turn around to see him happily looking over at us from the bath basin. “Ohhh, Gerry, you’re in trouuuuubblllee.”

I continue to watch him looking over at us with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. He looks so happy. I sigh. “I can’t stay mad. He’s too cute. Look at him.”

“You’re such a sucker.”

“We both are.”

“I know how much he loves the water. He’s such a pain in the ass. He’s definitely not sitting up front with me now.”

“We will get him dried off best we can before shoving his ass in the back. You know there was no way we were keeping him out of the water.”

“I know.” I take a sip of my margarita. “Oh, this is good. I’m going to need at least five more of these.”

“That would be something. You drunk at the dog park. I’m not sure Dallas is ready for that.”

After Tyler finishes his beer and I finish my margarita we gather up the dogs to head over to the food service area. We get ourselves grilled chicken sandwiches and popsicles for the dogs. They call them pupcicles. I love it here. Drinks, food, and all of the dogs to play with. Today I am not going to be trying an alcoholic popsicle, but I definitely will next time. I try another one of the frozen drinks they serve here, peach, one of my favorite flavors. I am absolutely in love. The dogs are having a great time too. We make sure Gerry basks in the sun to get dried off as much as he can before we leave. The dogs were able to get some energy out, Tyler and I got to relax, it was the perfect date.

The sun is starting to set so perfect time for us to head back to Tyler’s and unwind for the rest of the night. Tyler has a practice tomorrow and Sunday before the playoffs start on Monday so I have tonight and tomorrow to get in as much quality time with him that I can before the madness starts. They will be leaving on Sunday. He asked me to stay over throughout the playoffs earlier so eventually I will have to go home and pick up the things I will need. I’m sure throughout the time I will be back and forth as I don’t know how long they will be in the playoffs, hopefully all the way until the end. Time will tell. I’m looking forward to cheering him on for as long as they’re in it. I am also looking forward to being here for him in any way that I can.


	31. Round 1 of the Playoffs

It seems as if I’m always learning something new about being a hockey player’s girlfriend. I’ve been told that it’s become tradition for the wives and girlfriends to buy matching denim jackets customized with our guy’s name on number on the back. It’s a way to bring us together as a team of our own, a family. We already feel like a family but the jackets take it to a whole other level. It’s another bonding experience that I am excited to be a part of. It’s going to feel so amazing being united with the others. We have plans to meet up before the first home game to take pictures together and I am really looking forward to it. I am also looking forward to showing Tyler the jacket. It came in some time last week, but I haven’t gotten a chance to show it to him yet. This is going to be another first for him. He hasn’t had a girl wear denim with his name on the back before.

He should be getting home some time soon. They just landed. They’re coming back off the road having split the first two games with a win and a loss. He seems to be in good spirits about it and I can’t wait to give him a big hug. For the first game a bunch of us wives, kids, and girlfriends got together to watch. It’s a shame that’s the one they lost. There was such an excitement in the room before the game started and it dwindled towards the end. It wasn’t a blow out, though, so that’s the bright side.

For the second game I had my friends over Tyler’s house and we watched together. Jade was decked out in Stars gear from head to toe, it was adorable. I love that she’s getting more and more into hockey. She really seems to understand the game now and has learned everyone’s names on the team and their position. She reminds me of when I started going to games and was trying to learn everything. It’s coming to her way faster than it did for me. She loves Tyler and gets so excited when she can recognize him on TV. I almost enjoy watching her watch the game more than watching the actual game. Almost.

I debate whether or not I should put the jacket on for when he comes home or wait until he’s settled for the big reveal. I put it on, then take it off, put it on, then take it off, put it on once more and decide I’m keeping it on. I want to see the look on his face when he sees it for the first time and I think having it on will be best. Gerry and Grace have been following me around, probably picking up on my slightly anxious energy. I just can’t wait for him to be home and I know in any second we will hear that garage door open and he will be with us again. 

“Daddy will be home any minute, boys.” Their heads perk up at the mention of “daddy”. Gerry starts wagging his tail and pacing by the door. Marshall and Cash can’t be bothered to get up until they hear that door start to open then they get up as well. “Is that daddy? Is daddy home?” Their tails wag more feverishly as I pump them up a bit, not that they need any help. They are always so happy when Tyler comes home, especially from being away for a few days. Grace joins them by the door and they patiently wait for Tyler to come in, as patiently as labs can wait that is.

After much anticipation the door finally opens and Tyler walks in with the usual smile on his face. “Hey, puppies!” he enthusiastically coos. They all surround him and make happy dog noises at his arrival. He looks around to figure out where to put his bag down and I take it from him so he can pet them. He squats down and lets them shower his face with kisses as he makes sure to pet everyone’s head. “I missed you too. I missed you too.” He kisses their heads and noses then stands up. They continue to circle around his legs and feet. “I know, I know. Let me say hi to Amy first, then we can cuddle.” He finally sets his focus on me and his eyes go wide when he sees the jacket and smiles the whole width of his face. “Oh my god, I love it.” He hugs me and pulls me close in a tender embrace. He kisses my cheek and squeezes me tight. “It looks great. I missed you. I love you.” He takes a step back to get another look at the jacket, or me in the jacket, probably both. “Wow.”

“Yeah? Looks good?”

“Yeah, of course. You look good in anything, but, just wow, babe. Turn around. Let me see everything.” I slowly do a little spin so he can see all of the details, his name and number on the back being the most important thing.

It’s a black denim jacket with green and white stars all over it. One arm has the word Stars down it, the Canadian flag, and little green hockey sticks with a white border. The other arm has stripes of green and white, representing the stripes on the player’s jerseys, and a green state of Texas. Seguin in green on the back, a glittery silver number 91 underneath. The front has the Stars logo and the green hockey sticks on the pockets. It’s not really my style but that’s definitely not the point at all. I love it and will be proud to wear it. I am proud to wear it. 

I get back around to face him and he still has that big smile on his face. “What do you think?” I don’t know why I’m so unsure of myself in it.

“You look hot. Fucking sexy. I love it.” He hugs me again. “I love you,” he says in my ear. 

“I love you too, Ty.”

His hands wander down my back and rest on my ass, his favorite place for his hands, my favorite too. He kisses me like we haven’t seen each other in months. I missed the feeling of his lips on mine. I missed the feeling I get when he kisses me. Mind numbing, dizzy euphoria. Every touch of his lips to mine sends electricity through my veins. We pull apart slowly and he hugs me once more. “I’m gonna go change. Come join me?”

“Where else would I be?”

“I don’t know what two am routines you’ve got going.”

“Sleep usually.”

“I don’t know what that is.” He smirks, making his dimples cut deep into his cheeks. He picks his bag up from the floor where I placed it and we all follow him to his room. 

I stand in the closet doorway and wait for Tyler to change before getting into bed. I know that if I would have gotten into bed before him the dogs would take over and there’d be no place for him to sleep, not that he wouldn’t force them to make room for him, this way is just easier. I also happen to love watching him get undressed. 

For the past week I have been sleeping here alone with them and all 4 dogs have found a way to all fit on the bed with me. I know Tyler promised the dogs cuddles but I think once he gets in bed with me he may push them out. He gets a little greedy with me when he gets back from the road, even if he’s only gone for a few days. 

He throws on some shorts and walks over to me and hugs me. My hands go up and down his back. I love the way his skin feels. It’s one of my favorite things in the world, touching him. The way he reacts is also up there. I look at the time and groan. I have work in the morning. I have to wake up soon. I wish I could stay here and spend all day in bed with him, after he gets back from practice of course. “I’m going to be a zombie at work.”

“I told you you didn’t have to wait for me.”

“That’s just crazy talk. Of course I was going to wait up for you. I don’t care about work all that much right now anyway.”

He rubs my back now. “I know you don’t. Let’s get in bed before the dogs do and we have nowhere to sleep.” We start walking towards the bed. The dogs are all in various parts of the room. Some in dog beds, some on the floor. 

I smile. “They’re waiting for me.”

“I knew they would try to steal you from me as soon as I left. Traitors.” Once we get in the bed they start jumping in. Gerry cuddles up to Tyler right away. “Can we settle in first, guys? Geez. I missed you too but I need to get comfortable. And don’t forget she’s mine.”

I take my spot next to Tyler and rest my head on his chest. I need to be close to him before falling asleep. He slips his hand into the the back of the collar of my shirt, his shirt really, to touch the skin on my back. “I could just take it off.”

“Mmm. Yes, please.” I take my shirt off and place it on the table next to the bed. He rubs both hands up and down the skin on my back. “Much better.” He kisses my forehead. Then my cheek. Then my lips. I feel him proudly smiling in the kiss before turning up the heat a bit. It’s nice and passionate, but doesn’t last overly too long. He rests his forehead against mine. “So tired. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

“Yeah. You need your rest more than i do.”

He squeezes me tight. “I love coming home to you.”

“Me too, Ty.”

I close my eyes and breathe in the sweet scent of his skin. I know I won’t be sleeping in this position all night, but I’m going to enjoy it for as long as I can. The feeling of our skin touching, his hand on my back, the sound of his breathing, these are the things that I live for. Every little moment with him is a blessing. 

Game 3

We took way too many pictures. We went to Stephen and Taylor’s condo to take some out on their balcony. My camera roll is filled with pictures of all of us, some of us, single photos. It’s crazy. I don’t think I’ve taken so many pictures in one setting in my life, and I’ve been a maid of honor before. The most important thing is that I had so much fun. And we aren’t done yet. We plan to take more at the arena after the game. The only thing I regret is not taking one with Tyler before he left. We were both so busy getting ready. He was in game mode and we just didn’t think to. I made sure to give him a nice hug and kiss before he left and that was it.

It’s been such a wild ride with these women all season. They’ve taught me so much about hockey, being a player’s girlfriend, and how to deal with everything that comes with it. I am definitely closer with some more than others but at the end of the day we are a family just as much as the guys are. To come together and celebrate us for once has been so great. I can’t wait to watch my first ever live playoff hockey game with them.

The atmosphere in the American Airlines Center is something I’ve never experienced before. You can feel the energy of every single person here. You can certainly hear it. It is so loud. I want to spend all night to take this all in. I want to inject it in my veins and feel it every moment of every day because it is magical. They keep saying there’s nothing like playoff hockey and I feel it now. I know it now. The game hasn’t even started yet.

The scoring doesn’t start until the second period. Them, not us. Two goals. You would think it would take the energy out of the crowd but it just pumps them up even more. The fans are hungry for a goal, we all are. The players are hungry for a goal. A goal that comes 3 minutes later and they are back in the game. One more to tie and two more to win. 

Even during second intermission there is such a buzz about the arena. The girls and I get some drinks and head back to our seats to get ready for the third period to start. We take a selfie in our row and everyone is smiling, hopeful for the next goal to be scored by one of our guys. I sit there hoping that it’s mine, knowing how much pressure Tyler puts on himself to help the team. This would be the perfect time for him to shine. To tie the game. To give his guys a chance to win. I want it for him so badly.

Once the third period starts everyone is at the edge of their seats. Every touch of the puck is the potential to change the game. The anticipation of that next goal is nerve wracking and thrilling all at the same time. You can feel every shot on goal. You’re scared when it’s against us and you’re excited when it’s for us. You never know when the next shoe is going to drop or who is going to drop it. 

Every time Tyler gets the puck my heart beats a little faster, which I doubt is healthy since it’s already beating fast enough. “Come on, Tyler. Come on, Tyler.” Is all I can seem to mutter. 

I stop breathing, my heart skips a beat as Tyler takes a shot on goal and it bounces off the goalie’s pad. The guys battle for the puck behind the goal. While Tyler skates around to get in position just in case they get the puck loose and get it to him. Jamie winds up getting the puck and quickly passes it to Tyler, who is driving to the net. One touch of the puck by his stick and it’s in the back of the net. Tyler ties the game. The place goes absolutely insane. Everyone stands to their feet. I can’t even hear myself think or scream for him as everyone around me hugs me. 

“That’s your boy!”

“He did it!”

“Yeah, girl, there’s your man!”

“One more goal, guys, one more.”

I thought I would be ready for that goal. To see him score a playoff goal. His first playoff goal this season. I thought I would know how I’d react. I’d cheer my face off for him, probably lose my voice. I didn’t think I would get so emotional. I didn’t think I would have tears rolling down my cheeks. But I do. I am so proud of him and to see that pure joy on his face means everything in the world to me. My ears are still ringing from how loud it is in here right now. I’m addicted. Addicted to that feeling. I hope he scores again. 

He doesn’t. 

The Stars don’t.

The Stars go down 3-2 with eight minutes left in the game and that’s how it ends. It’s a crushing loss. There was so much potential there. It sucks but the bright side of things is that there’s another game in a few days to make up for it. Tyler keeps saying this game is over, it’s on to the next. You can’t look back. There’s nothing you can do to change what happened. You can only do better in the next one.

It feels bittersweet to be taking pictures together after this loss, but all we can do is pick each other up and pick our guys up for the next one. We get everyone together for a few more. As much as I love these girls, I think I’m good with pictures for the next year and a half. All I want is one with Tyler. 

I take a few moments to myself and step away from the crowd. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by the emotions of everything. I take a look at my phone for the first time since second intermission. I have texts from so many family and friends who were all watching the game. Some of them who have never watched hockey before but wanted to support Tyler for me. They’re excited for his goal. Excited to watch the next one. 

I try to answer everyone as much as I can before I see a nice set of dress shoes in front of me. I look up to see the beautiful smile attached to the man in them and his sweet brown eyes. “Waiting for someone?” he asks.

“Yeah. Someone pretty spectacular.”

“Where is he? I’ll make sure to let him know you’re here.”

“I’m wearing his name and number.”

He looks at the back of my jacket. “Seguin? That guy’s the worst. You could do so much better.”

“I don’t think I could. I wouldn’t want to anyway.” He smiles and hugs me. “Sorry you lost, Ty.”

“I’m sorry we lost too. That wasn’t a very good outcome for your first playoff game.”

“You scored a goal. That was awesome.”

“Yeah. We’ll win for you next game.” He kisses me sweetly. "Did someone take a picture of you in that jacket? I need one."

"Yes. Plenty. We need one together, though."

"Yes we do."

“HEY! ROOPE! Come over here and take a picture of me and my girl.” Roope walks over to us and takes my phone from me with a smile, 

“Thank you, Roope,” I make sure to say since Tyler doesn’t seem to think he should be polite to him. “We don’t mean to make you our personal photographer.”

Tyler rubs my back. “It’s fine. He doesn’t mind. Just a few ok, Roope?”

“It’s no problem,” Roope says as he holds the phone up to take the pictures.

Tyler is so excited to get pictures of me in the jacket. He makes sure we take one of him looking at me with a smile and my back is to the camera so his name and number are showing. That’s been the theme in most of these pictures. He wants to make sure everyone sees whose girl I am. I thought I would be more in charge of what poses we do but he’s taken over, which is adorable. I’m hoping to get more natural ones of us too, but I think Faith will take care of that when she comes to a game.

He wraps his arm around my back as we walk to his car. “We are going out to eat with a bunch of the guys before going home.”

“Oh good. I’m pretty hungry. I had a few drinks during the game but nothing to eat.”

“We will get you fed then.”

We drive over to Moxies talking about the photo shoot with the girls before the game and how incredible it was to be in that atmosphere. Most of the time when I’m with him he’s just Tyler to me but when you’re in that arena you’re well aware of just how big the impact he has on the fans of his team. I’m pretty sure there are more people wearing his name and number than anyone else on the team. You can’t not notice it and it’s impossible not to be incredibly proud of him. He is a hero to many. A favorite player. To me he is my rock, the love of my life, my happiness, the missing piece to my heart, my everything, and of course my hero and my favorite hockey player as well.

Game 6

“You have to make me look beautiful, Amy,” Jade demands as I put her hair up into a ponytail with a green ribbon.

“Don’t worry. You will look beautiful. You always do.”

“But even more now. This is important.”

I smile at her in the mirror. “I know it is. And you will be very beautiful, I promise.”

She smiles back at me. “Thanks.”

“Are you excited to see Tyler?” I ask as I finish up and spray a little bit of hairspray to keep everything in place.

“Yeah. I hope he wins. That would be really, really, really exciting.” She takes a look at herself in the mirror. “I do look beautiful. Thank you. Can I wear makeup?”

“Your mom already said no and you know that.”

She shrugs. “I tried.”

“I hope they win too. Imagine how happy he will be?”

“So so happy.”

Faith, Jade, and I are going to the game tonight. Girl’s night out. I am so excited to have them going with me. Jade has gotten so into hockey, and not just watching Tyler. I love that my friends are so into it and want to support Tyler with me. Jade is wearing her Tyler shirt, of course, black leggings, green sneakers. She is a walking Stars billboard and I love it. Faith didn’t want her to but she insisted on wearing the princess necklace Tyler gave her for her birthday. She says it will be his good luck charm and who can argue with that? They could use all of the luck they can get.

Tyler’s already gone for the game and they just missed him. Faith was trying to get here in time to see him off but she got caught in traffic. Jade was sad but got over it quickly knowing that she would be able to see him after the game. 

“Jade, let’s go downstairs and take a picture of you that I can send to Tyler,” I suggest.

Her eyes light up before I even finish the sentence. “Outside!!!!” She sprints out of the room and the dogs get up and chase after her. 

“You know what you’ve started, right? We will probably miss the first period now,” Faith jokes.

I laugh. “I don’t even know if he will see them before the game but we won’t tell her that.” I grab my denim jacket from the closet. “I’ll have her wear this in a few. He’d love it.”

“She’d love it more. She keeps asking me to get one for her.”

“She can’t have mine, but I’ll see what I can do. I can probably have another one made for her. I should have thought about that when I was getting mine made.”

“Don’t worry about it. You two spoil her enough as it is.”

We get outside into the backyard to see Jade trying to get all of the dogs to sit for her. Of course Gerry is being difficult. Grace is used to Jade and is patiently sitting and waiting. Cash is laying down and doesn’t seem to want to move at all. Marshall is standing there and observing. 

“Marshall and Gerry, sit. Now.” They do as I say. “Cash is probably just going to lay there, sweetie.”

Jade gets in position behind them and poses. “Hurry and take the picture!”

I take the picture. “Tyler is going to love that you are taking a picture with the dogs.”

She smiles. “I know.”

I take a lot more pictures of Jade. She’s having so much fun having her own personal photo shoot. I don’t even mind in the slightest. I love her like she’s my own child. Whatever puts a smile on her face I will provide if I can. We still have plenty of time before we have to leave for the game so it’s not a big deal. Tyler also has a special bond with her so I know once he sees the pictures it will make him happy. 

She flipped out when I gave her my jacket to wear. They probably heard her screaming at the arena. She looked so cute with the jacket so much bigger than her. She was swimming in it but she was working it. The pictures of her in the jacket are by far my favorite I took today. Not only did she look amazing in it, probably better than I do, but her smile while she was wearing it was bigger than I’ve ever seen. I don’t care what Faith says, I’m getting her one of her own. 

American Airlines Center during playoffs has become my favorite place to be. Everyone is so enthusiastic, and energetic, and hopeful. The Stars have been playing great hockey and if they win tonight, they move on to the next round. I have all of the confidence in the world that they will do it tonight. They’ve been outplaying the other team, dominating, wearing them down. They’re going to do it tonight in front of their fans and it’s going to be incredible. I can feel it. 

Faith and I have to hold onto Jade tightly because all she wants to do is explore. We want to get in early so Jade can watch Tyler during warm ups so we can’t get involved in any activities. We go right in and down to a spot by the glass that we know Tyler will be around and will see her in. I look up at the time, and there’s still a while before warm ups start but we are here. That’s what’s important. We got our spot and she’s going to get to see Tyler and he will get to see her. He was bummed that he didn’t get a hug from her before he left, he stayed as long as he could, so I know that seeing her will put a smile on his face.

As soon as the lights go down and the pre warm ups video starts playing Jade stands up places her hands on the glass and watches with wonder. “It’s almost time, mommy.” Faith sits further up in her seat so she could watch with her. I’m standing on the other side of her. This is certainly not her first hockey game but every game she comes to she’s just as excited as that first time.

One by one the players skate out from the tunnel. Jade informs Faith that Tyler’s second to last, as if she doesn’t know. Faith knows but doesn’t correct her. She will let her have this. She loves showing off how much she knows, how much she observes. Watching through her eyes is such an experience. Next season I will make sure to bring her to a lot more games. 

As soon as Tyler skates out Jade jumps up and down screaming for him. He takes a few shots on goal before settling down in front of us to stretch, his usual warm ups routine. As soon as he turns towards us he sees Jade and he smiles and waves to her. She smiles and waves back to him. He makes sassy faces at her as he continues to stretch. She laughs and makes faces back at him. 

When Tyler skates around to our side of the glass and hangs out in front of us he puts his glove in front of Jade’s face and laughs. She sticks her tongue out at him and he smiles and sticks his tongue back out at her. He stands right in front of her and rubs his back up against the glass. She hits the glass a few times and he turns around and shushes her and smirks. He hits his stick against the glass before skating away giggling to himself. 

Jade looks up at me with the biggest smile on her face. “I love him, Amy.”

I smile back. “I do too.”

“Are you going to marry him?”

“One day, hopefully.”

She nods. “I hope so too.”

The rest of warm ups go on and before Tyler leaves the ice he picks up a puck, skates over to us, and tosses the puck over the glass to Jade. She catches it, jumps up and down, then blows him a kiss. He pretends to catch it and places it on his cheek. It’s just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I fall more in love with him every day.

Not only is there nothing like playoff hockey, there certainly isn’t anything like overtime playoff hockey. Everyone is on their feet. Every shot on goal takes everyone’s breath away. Each one could be the one that ends the game. Every shot on goal by the Stars could be the one that sends them to the next round. 

Tyler gets the puck and skates into the zone before passing the puck behind him to Alexander, Rads passes it across the ice to Klingberg. I think I stop breathing as John shoots the puck and it makes it into the back of the net. The goal horn goes off and the arena goes crazy. The players go crazy. I don’t take my eyes off of Tyler, who has the biggest smile on his face as he runs on the ice towards his teammates and jumps into the pile. 

We are screaming for Tyler and I have tears in my eyes. They did it. They really did it. I am so happy for Tyler, for the whole team really. They have worked so hard to get here and they are on to the next step. I want to stay here at the seats and breathe in the atmosphere but we have to get down to the tunnel to see Tyler, which definitely is more important. I am certainly ready to see him and I know Jade’s ready to go see him as well.

Tyler walks out from the dressing room and Jade runs over to him and jumps into his arms. Luckily she’s a little thing. He just played a long game. Not that Tyler minds at all. He catches her and hugs her. She hugs him so tight and kisses his cheek as he walks towards us.

“I am so sorry. I did not know she was going to do that,” Faith apologizes. 

Tyler kisses Jade’s cheek before putting her down. “It’s ok. I really don’t mind. I love her hugs.” 

He smiles at me and I hug him. “Congratulations, Ty.”

He nuzzles into my neck. “Thanks.” He gives me a tight squeeze. “That felt so fucking good.”

I smile. “I bet. Felt good from where we were sitting too.”

He holds on to either side of my face a kisses me so tenderly before resting his forehead against mine. “I love you.” Jade giggles from behind us and we both look at her. “And you! I saw your pictures, little miss Insta model.”

Faith rolls her eyes. “Please don’t encourage her, Tyler.”

He takes his phone out of his pocket and opens up one of the pictures and holds it out to Jade. One of the ones of her in the jacket. “Where’d you get this cool jacket from? Looks so good on you.”

“Amy let me wear it for some pictures. I love it!”

Tyler squats down to Jade’s level. “Maybe we can look into getting you your own.”

“I already said no,” Faith replies.

Tyler stands up and drapes his arm over Faith’s shoulders. “Your mom is acting like she has a say.” Jade giggles. Tyler looks at me. “Is that something we can work on?”

“I was going to do it as a surprise, but yeah, that’s something we can work on.”

Jade jumps up and down. “Yay! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” She hugs me and then Tyler.

Faith can’t help smiling as Jade and Tyler dance around in happiness. “You know when you finally have kids I’m spoiling the shit out of them.”

“I know. You’ve mentioned that a million times already.”

“I’ll mention it a million more until it happens. Look at him with her. He’s going to be a great dad.”

“He is really good with her, and all kids really, but especially Jade.”

“So, are you and your mom coming out to celebrate with us?” Tyler asks.

“Yeah!” Jade exclaims, and looks hopefully at Faith.

Faith nods her head no. “Sorry, princess, it’s late as it is. We have to get you home.”

Jade stomps on the ground and disapprovingly crosses her arms over her chest. “No fair.”

Faith rubs her back. “I’m sure they’re going to be drinking adult beverages that you’re too young for. Plus, it’s way past your bedtime and you have school tomorrow.” Jade pouts.

Tyler squats back down in front of her. “If your mom says it’s ok you can come over tomorrow to watch the first game of the night with us.” He looks up at Faith. “What do you say, mom?” Both of them look at her with pleading eyes. I don’t know how she is going to be able to say no.

Faith sighs. “Yes, we can do that, but you have to leave with me right now.” 

Jade hangs her head. “Ok, mommy.” Jade hugs me then Tyler goodbye. 

Tyler lifts her chin with his finger. “Chin up, kiddo, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She smiles. “Yeah.” She yawns and rubs her eyes. 

“Looks like someone’s tired. Go home and get some sleep.” Tyler hugs her one more time. “Do you remember how to get out of here? We can walk you out if you want.”

“No. That’s ok. I remember. You two be safe tonight, ok?”

“Yes, mom,” Tyler and I say at the same time. We look at each other and laugh. 

Faith shakes her head at us. “You two deserve each other. Have fun. And congratulations on the win, Tyler. We will see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Faith.”

I hug Faith goodbye. “Goodnight. Text me when you get home. There are crazies out there tonight.”

“Now who’s the mom?” She teases. I laugh and they start making their way out.

Tyler and I wait around for a bunch of the other guys before we all leave to get something to eat at Moxies. We get some food and drinks in us before branching off. Some of us go home and some of us go out to the club to further our celebration. Of course Tyler and I go to the club. 

After I don’t even know how many shots and countless hours of dancing, we head home exhausted and drunk. Tyler fumbles with his keys but finally gets the door open and the dogs come running. We stumble through the door and try not to trip over them as we make our way inside. Tyler pets all of their heads before letting them out to go to the bathroom. I try to pour food for them but more of it winds up on the floor than in the bowl. Gerry or Cash will clean it up so I don’t have to worry. 

When Tyler and the dogs get back inside Tyler looks at the floor and giggles. “What did you do?”

“Shut up. They’ll eat it. It’s not even that much.”

“Let’s let them eat and go to my room for some celebration sex.” I take my Seguin denim jacket off and drape it over the back of the couch. Tyler looks at where I left it and picks it up. “You’re going to need this. I’m gonna fuck you in it.”

“I fucking love the playoffs.”

He smiles, picks me up, throws me over his shoulder, and carries me to the bedroom.


End file.
